Tears Of Sakura
by Jerry Toh
Summary: Following the events of Petals Of Sakura; two eevees were separated by fate and now rejoined but things were not all good: Sakura, the princess of Sun-Grove, could not remember her former friends and Arthur, haunted by his betrayal to Sakura, was hoping for a second chance. The Raiders are once again on the move and this time, they aim to liberate the world.
1. Chapter 1

**_Introduction_**  
This is the continuation to Petals of Sakura. It begins several days after where the story ended previously. This contains content from Pokemon which I do not claim ownership for. The idea of the story belongs to me and Melody. Without further ado, let's begin this new story. To those who did not read the first part of the storyline, I will try and help you guys. This story along with Petals of Sakura takes place in a fictitious after-game of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.

_**Story, Chapter 1**_  
The deluge raged on, like it has done several times before. Rain battered on the windows; a fork of lightning flashed across the landscape. In the Pokemon World, every Pokemon was either in the comfort of their dwelling or outside braving the relentless downpour to achieve their objectives. This particular storm turned the warmth of day into a freezing darkness of night. Gleaming like a bright lamp in a dark room, Sun-grove castle stood up strong with its magical dome; the stone walls stood boldly against the strength of the rainfall while the dome held against potential lightning strikes. Amongst the towers, a lonely Eevee leaned against the railings of her balcony; under the protection of an adjustable roof. She stared out into the misty scenery; her mind wandering off into someplace unknown. She had sparkling violet eyes and a petite figure. She wore an Amber Ear Wrap on her right ear and a unique Amherst necklace in the shape of a Cherry Blossom. Her name was Sakura.

In a distance, the town clock stuck six in the morning. The resonance of the bell and chimes rang loudly, ricocheting off every wall it could reach before dissipating into nothingness. Sakura had enough of the exhilarating rush of cold air cause by a small convection current and stopped leaning on the railing and trotted back to her room. Sakura used her powers of Magic to completely transform the archway into a series of window panels. In the Pokemon world, there were a selected few that had the incredible ability to control the fabric of reality with their spiritual will. These few were able to manipulate reality using their words, orbs or vortex in order of difficulty and power. Sakura glanced around the room; it was decorated with a floral theme. The sound of the rain made Sakura sleepy and she just dosed off.

"Princess Sakura, time to wake up!" called someone. Sakura's eyes slowly opened, her eyes stared at an undefined shape right in front of her. As she blinked to refocus, her steward, Katie came into plain view. "Today is a really busy day!" Sakura did a perfect acrobatic somersault and landed on the floor. "Alright, looks like you are extremely prepared; there will be your usual classes in the morning, there is a public hearing in the afternoon and finally you get the rest of the evening to yourself." Sakura stared at Katie: she was never given a time to take a break from her classes or royal duties. "I know you are happy, but please have something to eat at the breakfast..." Katie did not have to complete her speech to send Sakura dashing out of the room.

Meanwhile, at a remote yet lively town called Lavinder Town and inside a Pokemon institute called Pokeacademy, A young Eevee who goes by the name of Arthur was doing some paperwork in a remote corner of the cafeteria. Arthur; along with Jasmine, Jake and Oliver had formed a team with Mat as their leader. Arthur is in his last stretch of studying in Pok?cademy: Elite Battling Class. As his last assignment; he would have to be a junior exploration member for at least a few months, after that he would graduate. Recently, his sister, Cynthia had become a popular Pokemon Star overnight. Arthur became her helper with miscellaneous things. Arthur had made himself extremely engaged.

"There you are! Arthur, you have another stack of letters. Can you do something about this?" Alice panted as she dumped a bag of letters on the table. Arthur's jaw dropped at the sight of it.

"Oh... Thanks Alice, I will do something about it as soon as I can..." Arthur said while laughing awkwardly. Arthur sweat-dropped when he took a glance at the frontal letters: Addressed to Cold Heart. 'Cold Heart' was Cynthia's nickname as a Pokemon Star, the letters are commenting on her latest triumph on the Lavinder Theatre in a popular play called: Raindrops are Tears. Arthur leapt onto the table and poured the letters out and began to sort them accordingly.

"Fan..." Arthur repeated continuously as he looked at the receiver name. Dumping those for her sister into the bag, he took awhile to abbreviate the pile. He came across three non-fan mail and places those aside. Arthur instantly recognizes one of the three letters as it is in a forget-me-not blue and the Icicle Castle coat of arms. Arthur tore it open and read the contents carefully.

Dear Arthur,  
I had been thinking for a long time. I have decided; what's done is done, there is no way we can alter the past. So I like to extend an invite to your sister and the rest of the team to Icicle Castle. We could take the time to catch up from after I ran off last time. 'Cold Heart' has a play to attend at Icicle Castle as well so it would be convenient for her.

See you there, Crystal.  
PS. Frosty is one of her fans and a little too excited.

Arthur's eyes glistered as he looked at the letter. Arthur had done something terrible in the past that still haunts him up till this day. Crystal was also hurt by it and was angry with him. Arthur kept the letter into his strap-on backpack. The second letter was about Crystal's audition yesterday at Lavinder Theatre for the aforementioned performance. Arthur did not have to read it as Crystal's letter had told him of the results. The third letter was sent by Katie and it was concerning Sakura's latest development. Before Arthur could open it, the bell rang and he had to dash off to his next class.

Back in Sun-Grove, Sakura had just entered into a massive hall. Her instructor, Nova, was already waiting for her. Nova is a beautiful Milotic who was named 'Champion of Sun-Grove' several times.

"Today we will be doing some actual battling." Nova merely shouted from where she stood. "You will start this battle with the first attack." Sakura took off her accessories and took her position, looking at her instructor. Since I have the first move, I need to do something constructive. Sakura thought to herself and she decided to curl up into a tight ball and roll towards Nova. Nova lazily swished her tail in a circular motion; a ring of water formed. When Sakura was about to hit Nova, she slammed the ring of water onto the floor and it formed a pillar of water around her. Sakura rebounded against the wall and went flying backwards. Sakura recovered quickly; digging her legs into the floor. She started with a Water Pillar, which boosts her future water attacks. I better do something. Sakura dug underground. Nova decided not to move at all but to prepare a surprise. Sakura burst out of the ground, dealing a small amount of damage. Sakura had anticipated that Nova would be preparing to strike her as she came. She twisted herself around and used Iron Tail to whack Nova and deter her Twister attack. Following it up quickly with a quick attack and a bite on her delicate tail, Nova stuttered backwards as Sakura landed safely. Sakura had improved significantly since her first lesson with Nova: she blown away numerously, slapped around and also wacked around. Soon she was built into a strong and speedy Pokemon, capable of rendering even the most skillful Pokemon to its knees.

"Quite impressive!" Nova commented as they finished their first sparing match. Sakura eased up and gave a courteous bow. Nova replied to the salutations in a similar fashion. "You may tell the King that you are proceeding onto your next and final part of the class." Sakura nodded silently and took her with a broad smile printed on her face. An obsession had driven her to fight hard: the once-in-a-blue-moon relaxation period. Similar events happened in Magic Class; she completed the last test for Orb usage in magic. (She completed word usage a few months ago Orbs and Vortexes were concentration of flowing force while words were a merely a simple spew of the mystical force emitted from the user's mouth in a form of 'words'. The force causes a ripple in the realism that would alter the state.

"You seem very enthusiastic today, what's the occasion?" Sandy, Sakura's magic teacher, asked. Sakura elaborated on her getting a resting period for today. Sandy smiled and they went on to talk about her intermission study. "You need to be with an exploration team for the next few months, the King will assign you to a trusted group so you can freely practice your regular attacks and also magical arts." Sakura listened attentively while her dazzling light orb still floated in the air.

"Does that mean I have to stop my duties as a princess for a few months?" Sakura said while her eyes widened and her heart racing as she waited for a reply.

"Yes... but it is important that-" Sandy started but Sakura had already cheered before she sat back down. "Do not reveal your identity to anyone, except your team." Sandy finished. Sakura nodded and then she went for lunch.

At the same moment, Arthur was headed towards his home: the cottage hidden behind a row of tree near Lavinder town.

"Mom, Dad I am home..." Arthur recited from his routine of leaving and entering his household; he shut the door gently behind as he went through. Cynthia came into the kitchen, her vines holding onto two dishes. "Oh Cynthia! How did the audition go?" Cynthia just laughed.  
"Did you burn the letter or misplace it. I did great; in fact, I am going to be performing. You got some of your own mail to look through" Cynthia replied; Arthur decided to go to his room. "I left it in your room for you!"

"Thanks a lot, sis! Your fans are getting crazier every day. The bag for today is just outside" Arthur called down from the top of the stairs. Arthur took off his bag and set it on the side of his bed. He opened a hand-crafted wooden box and took out the mail that Cynthia had told him about.

Hey Arthur!  
We are all getting a new member! We do not know much about her but we do know that she is a Magic User like Crystal. Well anyways; she is going to meet up with us at Icicle Castle, at Cold Heart's performance. I wonder who is this mystery girl is?  
See you later, Jasmine.

Arthur grinned as he gently folded the mail back into the wooden storage container. He was about to embark on his adventure with his friends, where they will try to discover new places to the lands of the east.

Sakura was having her lunch when suddenly a strange headache occurred and she grasped her head in pain. Katie passed her a particular looking pill which Sakura just swallowed it. (Nearly taking Katie's paw along with it) The pain retreated and Sakura took a sigh of relief. Sakura has been suffering an unusual illness that causes her to experience headaches unexpectedly. She needs to take the pill that Katie had offered her in order to stop the pain. Sakura drank down the remainder of her soup and departed from the Dining hall.

"Sakura, I-" the King started but it was fallen on deaf ears as the door slowly closed.

"You know that what's done is done, don't you?" Katie asked. The King bit his lip and decided to depart too. "She needs to leave by today to Lavinder Town or she would not be on time for tomorrow. Don't worry I will look after her." The king heard every word and he paused at the door way.

"Please... I just wanted her to be happy, not empty-" The King said slowly. "Maybe it is best if she does not remember, those memories would be so heartbreaking."

Sakura was packing her large bag; she was informed that she can wander about when she reached Lavinder Town. The sun was at its highest point when Sakura was being pushed into a carriage that was going to bring her to Lavinder Town.

"Can't I just walk?" Sakura protested as Katie tried to nudge her into the stagecoach.

"You can't! You would be late and we cannot have that! Come on, once we are there you can explore all you want." Katie tried to reason with Sakura. Sakura reluctantly followed Katie and soon they were on the road.

Lavinder Town... it seems familiar to me in a way but I don't know how. Sakura thought as they left the safety of the Sun-Grove's outer walls.

Back in Lavinder Town, Arthur had invited his team to meet at the Academy. They wanted to meet before they venture off together at the crack of dawn. They would also rendezvous with Mat somewhere in Frozen Forest.

"Ok so everyone knows the deal?" asked Arthur, looking at everyone in turn.

"We know it already! Isn't your sister coming with us?" asked Jake, leaning against the wall, not even looking at him.

"Not really; her manager has rented a carriage for her. We would be on our own against nature and the raiders." Arthur finished and they all nodded. They one-by-one dispersed and went home, Arthur was the last one. And when we get there, it would be me against fate.


	2. Chapter 2

Nightfall has begun; Sakura and Katie just reached Lavinder Town. Sakura flashed a robe onto herself through Magic and led by Katie off the carriage. They both sneaked around along the shadows of the dark; they both stopped at the infamous PokeAcademy. Alice greeted them and gave them both a warm welcome; she led them along the winding passages of the school to their room.

"I cannot believe that you are back in Lavinder Town, I thought you left forever-" Alice started off but Katie quickly interrupted.

"So... Has anything interesting happened in Lavinder Town?" Katie asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well if you really want to know... Nothing much has really happened, it has been fairly-,"Alice replied before being rudely cut-off again. This time by Sakura.

"I have been here before?" Sakura said, her voice displaying a crystal clear hint of curiosity. This made Alice stopped dead in her tracks. (Causing Katie also slammed her nose into Alice's leg) Sakura and Alice's eyes met. A familiar sensation swept across Sakura's body. Alice's eyes turned from shock to the inevitable sadness and she turned and started to walk without another word. Could it be true? I was here before and I knew her once? Sakura thought as they made another turn by a hallway. All three of them refused to utter another word as they arrived at the room. Sakura and Katie went into separate rooms as there was not enough room for them to stay together. Another nostalgic feeling came over her.

Strangely, Sakura felt that she knew where she slept without checking the beds and climbed up one of the bunk beds to an empty slot. She lay on her bed staring up onto the ceiling. She shredded a teardrop from her brilliant violet eyes. For the first time in so long, her eyes sparkles like it used to. She had come 'home'.

Morning seems to have arrived earlier than usual; Arthur was already up from his bed and was helping his mom cook breakfast. Cynthia decided to sleep in that day as she would have busy day and a stagecoach would come for her later. Arthur's team came by in time to tuck into some home-cooked breakfast. As they settled down and enjoy the succulent meal, they talked a whole bunch above their upcoming adventures.

"Hey team, I actually wanted to say this tiny speech for when we meet our new member. But since you all are my childhood friends..." Arthur stood up and said. His voice attracted the attention of his members naturally. "What we are about to embark on; is not only our first official adventure but also an everyday test of our team-spirit and will-power. No doubt we would face a lot of hardships and setbacks, but I would like everyone in this team to know and remember... We are a team and we would do things based on our team decision, our devotion to adventuring and exploring is the bond that holds this team together. Should we ever forget this, may we be reminded by the efforts of our determination."

Awestruck by an inspiring speech, the group nodded in agreement and they drained the last remains of their fresh water from their cups. Meanwhile at the PokeAcademy, Sakura was also early to wake up as she stood at the balcony and gazed into picturesque scenery. The trees' branches moved with the breeze and the leaves danced with the movement. Sakura was looking at the beauty of nature that used to make her feel happy and tranquil. Sakura was slowly about to drift off into a place of inner peace...

"Lady Sakura? It's time for us to go! Once at Icicle Castle, you may roam around as you wish." Katie called from the doorway. Sakura snapped out of her wonderful world and into the world of reality. Sakura took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly; savouring every second she could before joining Katie. "I prepare some breakfast for you; we will eat once we are on the road."

Unknown to Sakura, Arthur was gazing at the balcony where she stood. Arthur thought that the figure he saw was just his mind playing a trick on him like it has done on several occasions. Well looks like I really miss you, Sakura. As even when we are apart, I still see you in life. Arthur laughed to himself like someone had told him a funny joke. His face got slapped.

Oliver's tail smacked Arthur's face; waking him up. Arthur shook his head furiously and blinked his eyes till he is fully awake. Arthur apologized to Oliver and continued to gaze out the window. They are waiting for Jake, who needs some time to interact with someone.

Jake walked slowly along the gravel path of Lavinder Town, deep in thought. Nearly a year ago, Jake had run away from home as a Pichu. Constantly fighting for survival in the wilderness around Sun-Falls, he had evolved into a Hardy Pikachu who could withstand the weight of the world. However all of his experiences have its toll on his life; he has given up his family. The warmth and happiness of Pokemon that he would have known for most of his life and also the people that will always have a special place in his heart. He stopped abruptly and he stared at an old mansion: his former home. The mansion was perhaps the oldest building in Lavinder Town, it has stood its ground against the ravages of time. Its chronology can be seen clearly from the outside; Jake walked right up to the gate, his eyes transfixed at the old gate.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" someone yelled, memories came flooding to Jake as he saw a vivid scene before him. "IF YOU LEAVE THAT GATE, DON'T EVEN COME BACK HERE! IT IS NO LONGER YOUR HOME!"

"GOOD! I NEVER LIKE THIS OLD RUIN ANYWAY!" Jake heard his own yell from his Pichu-self. A Raichu stood; looking cross, at the door of the mansion was the owner of the first yell he remembered. It was the moment that he had been very rash and it has led to his present self: a lonely Pikachu with an attitude problem. He could recall the feelings he had at that point in time. He was utterly upset as he wants his freedom instead of letting of his grandparents controlling every aspect of his life. Now after numerous months of fighting for survival, he had come back to the place where everything started.

"Jake, is that really you?" asked a soothing voice from beyond the gates: his mother. Jake swung his damp face to look at his mother as she strolled over. "Looks like you haven't changed much. Still a cry-baby?" Jake speedily wiped his eyes, his face reddening.

"Hello Mom... it has indeed been awhile." Jake croaked out slowly.

"Eleven months; I had been counting, praying for your safety for the most part of the year!" Jake's mother cried out in a mixture of joy and anger. Jake could not help but to share her emotions; he felt nostalgic during those eleven months, he had missed his parents a lot as well as his siblings. Jake's mother opened the gate and they shared their first hug in a very prolonged period of time. Jake could feel the love that his mother had preserved for him; it flowed into his body and slowly became a part of him.

"Big Brother!" called out someone else, a trio of Pichus came running out of the Mansion and caused Jake to lose his balance and collapse into a heap with all three hugging him tightly.

"Hey there; how have you three little angels been?" Jake queried as he was nearly squeezed to death.

"Fantastic! Now that you are home; we are a complete family again!" all three bellowed in unison. Something just hit Jake when he heard the sentence. He slowly let his siblings before they all went inside the mansion. Jake's grandfather was sitting in his chair, glaring at Jake. Jake had all the training in the world to face his grandfather so he came in confidently.

"Funny. I recall that you said that you hated this old ruin. So why are you back?" Jake's grandfather started. Jake gave him the same look that he had shown him the last time: determination.

"Yes I had said that and I still stand by the same answer. I am back as this might be the last time I see my family and you." Jake replied; his grandfather was looking at him carefully, expecting him to elaborate why it may be the last time. "I am about to complete my training at PokeAcademy; after which, I will set off on my own and see the world because that is what I want. It is my wish that I see my whole family at least for the last time before I embark with a junior team that would gradually lead to me to my dream."

"I have one question that I had wanted to ask you ever since you left-"Jake's grandfather mentioned and strangely his voice and Jake's voice said the same thing in harmony.

"Did you miss me? Because I did!" Jake actually genuinely smiled along with his grandfather before they shared their first and possibly last hug. His three siblings crowded around him and gave him the warmth of being with family. Tears that had been held back for months poured out like a waterfall; Jake's face lit up as he picked up the youngest of the three and tossed her slightly in the air and catching her. He had beaten his long and gruelling dilemma; he also regained his lost bonds with his family. Jake received some parting gifts from his family; a few berries, a photo album and also a Light Ball.

"Jake; can you promise us that you come and visit us often?" Jake's sister squealed in excitement. Jake chuckled and bent down so that they are relatively the same height as each other.

"I promise!" Jake and his sister revolved themselves and their tails connected; it was the Pikachu's way of promising. "Already I better get going; my teammates are all waiting for me."

Back at the Academy, Sakura was very reluctant to leave the strange warmth of the school but Katie managed to get her to the main gates. Alice accompanied them to say farewell. Secretly. Alice gave Sakura a small bag that she could put things inside of if she needed to and inside, naively, contained strange items that include a photo album, a camera and also stationary. "Well it was nice to see you again. Even though you couldn't remember but I still do." Alice shed a tear as Sakura boarded the carriage.

"Well that was both strange and awkward but strangely warm." Sakura commented in her mind. Katie thanked Alice before she also joined Sakura and the cart moved off on its own without any pokemon pulling it. Katie began to talk a lot about what Sakura must do at Icicle Castle. Sakura did not really paid much attention to instructions given by Katie, instead she leant her head on the glass window, gazing at the passing landscape and pokemon.


	3. Chapter 3

A warm breeze swept across Lavinder Town while a scorching sun stood overhead, bathing the town in brilliant sunlight. Junior Team Sapphire waited around the western exit of Lavinder Town which leads to the borderline between the warm climates of Lavinder Town to the frosty chills of Icicle Castle: Frozen Forest. Arthur has been pacing around the grass patch offset to the gravel pathway waiting for one of his team members: Jake.

Jake had walked out of an elegant steel gateway with his explorer bag slightly heavier than before. He had the photo album that his family gave him opened in front of him so he could admire the contents that lay within. Jake cheerfully walked down the familiar route back to his teammates. His spirits all perked up.

Sakura leaned her petite body on the inner side of the stagecoach, her eyes glued to the scenery. Sakura had rarely gone out of the castle since the day she woke up from her bedroom several months ago with no memory of the days leading to that point. Disregarding that, she decided to continue her life and just let her memory come back to her naturally. The steel-rimmed wheel rolled along the direct pathway to Icicle Castle.

Arthur had just wandered slightly out of line and stumbled onto the road. (The same route that Sakura and Katie was heading down)

Arthur could not help but ponder about what tomorrow would bring. His team was assigned another member by the federation and Crystal and Mat did not give him any details save that their new member is a mystic. (A name that is given to pokemon that could use magic) With a mystic around, there would be a lot of advantages and disadvantages to it; they would have to make up wild stories to cover up any mishap with magic, depart from each other as they have to take a strange test from appointed teachers. With useless thoughts floating around in his head, he was oblivious to his surroundings which comprise the fact that Sakura's ride was heading his way.

"Arthur! Jake is back, hurry!" yelled Jasmine and Arthur was snapped back to his senses.

"Coming!" Arthur replied back and he made a turn and headed back. While his back was turned, Sakura's transport travelled by him without being noticed. What tough luck. Sakura, sitting on soft velvet cushions, shuffled uncomfortably. Katie softly threw a thermal robe over Sakura; she slowly puts it on as they left the gate and the temperature starts to plummet. Sakura looked out the windows that are beginning to turn frosty. _Only a few more hours to go before I start my own adventure._

Arthur and his team took out their own thermal jacket and all-purpose boots as they will be experiencing very low temperatures and slippery terrain. After donning on their new equipment, they discuss how they intend to organize their team.

"We will be encountering mostly Ice and Grass pokemon so Oliver you would have to lead us." Arthur pointed out; the team nodded. "I believe there might be some Water pokemon as well."

"You got it right, so Jake and I will assist Oliver while you provide us items." Jasmine added on. "Alright, let's go! We don't want to keep Mat waiting."

The reflection of sunlight shone through the frozen ice and become temporary beacons of light. Their first obstacle was crossing a frozen lake. They took out the rope and found a huge leaf. They secured the rope around Jasmine and Arthur so that can pull the rest of them across without risking everyone slipping and sliding all over. Jake and Arthur's sharp hearing heard movement on the other side of the lake; they suspected it might be Raider Scouts. Guild Raider is an organization that trains pokemon to use their emotions as energy to deal deadly attacks as well as the art of stealing and deception. However according to reliable sources from the Exploration Federation, they have a hunch that the Raiders have an ulterior motive that they are after.

"Stay alert, I hear movement." Jake mentioned as they reached the shoreline. Just as they are about to loosen the rope binding Arthur and Jasmine to the Leaf, Raider Scouts ambushed them. The eight assorted pokemon scouts threw smokescreen bombs on Team Sapphire, depriving them of sight. When the smoke cleared, most of the scouts disappeared.

"Well that is less of them we got to deal with…" Jake started but when he turned around. "Wait, where did Jasmine and Arthur go?" They realized that a little too late as in the short moment when they are busy choking in the smoke; the scouts pulled Jasmine and Arthur by the rope away from the group.

Jasmine and Arthur are resisting being pulled further from the group. They dug their heels down into the slippery snow in a fruitless attempt. Jasmine looked at Arthur with a signaling look. They practiced what to do when they are in this situation as Raiders will exploit any weakness that they are unprepared for. They ran to the sides, opposite of each other; while maintaining the tension on the rope, they ran in circles and the rope started to wrap around four of the scouts that are pulling on the other end. The other two realized what was going on and began to attack. Since they use

sharp claw attacks, Arthur endured one hit to cut the rope after he was done disabling four of them. He charged using his unique Extreme Speed to do a lot of things within seconds: cut Jasmine free using his teeth and tackle the last two of the scouts. However, using extreme speed depletes his energy very quickly and he also had to endure two more hits from separate Icy Winds fired at him in retaliation from a couple of the immobilized scouts. Arthur was close to fainting after Jasmine finished locking the scouts in an impasse and teleporting them to the Explorer Federation using her Explorer Badge.

"Are you alright? You took a big risk back there using extreme speed." Jasmine asked out of concern. "Come on; let's get you back to the group. I believe I heard Jake's thunder over there." They slowly limped back to the group.

Back with Jake and Oliver, they are locked in a deep battle with the last two pokemon. Sparks flew in various directions and snow splattered everywhere as both sides exchanged fire. Jake had unleashed his Thunder attack previously and was nearly out of energy; his target managed to avoid it. Oliver is suffering from the environment: every fiery attack he had melted some of the snow and turning it into water. The aforementioned water weakens Oliver further so both of them are in a tight situation. Jasmine and Arthur just reappeared from the shadow of the trees. Both of them were blind-sighted and got hit squarely by a Water Pulse. Arthur, was already tired out, landed in a heap and just stayed down to recover some of his energy. Jasmine flipped over and landed on her feet before charging forward. One of the scouts had just dealt the finishing blow to Jake; Jake flew backwards, knocking down Oliver in the process and all of them crashed into Arthur. Jasmine defeated the other scout but as her back was turned, the other scout knocked her down. As Jasmine was slowly blacking out, she saw that the scout was about to finish her off but then suddenly she felt a force that is similar to a Shadow Ball hit the scout and that was all she knew.

"Hey you guys! Wake up!" called someone a few minutes later. Everyone just woke up and was greeted by a friendly face: Mat the Leafeon, one of leaders of Team Sapphire. "What happened? I just found all of you on the floor after some cloaked figure defeated the last scout."

"We were just caught off-guard by the raiders." Arthur explained. "Did you get to see who the cloaked pokemon was?"

"I didn't, when I got to the scene, that pokemon bolted in that direction." Mat started and Arthur got up and went to find any footprints. He found some just off the path and the footprints are similar to his own.

_An Eevee? But how is it possible?_ Arthur thought as he walked back to his team who were already on the move once again.

Meanwhile, Katie was slightly worrisome about Sakura as they just approached the castle.

"That was extremely risky of you rushing out and attacking that scout." Katie puffed out angrily.

"But I had to… those pokemon were in trouble," Sakura tried to argue but Katie silenced her as she talked to guards. _Well at least, I know I did the right thing._


	4. Chapter 4

It was a chilly midafternoon when Sakura and Katie arrived at the colossal gate of the Ice Palace. Katie was interacting with the guards who wanted clarification. Sakura was just standing behind her, tightening her cloak over her body. In reality, Sakura does not need to wear the cloak to be warm as she had very thick fur like all eevees do. However, she wears it due to her status as royalty and the King does not want to risk his precious daughter being captured. As a cold wind ripped through the air, Sakura took out her camera and took a quick picture of the Ice Palace. She took the dark photo and just let it bath in the sunlight. She sighed; a cloud of mist was created.

"Sakura? Crystal would see you now, try and be polite to her." Katie called to the day-dreaming Sakura who once again felt the feeling of nostalgia, similar to experience when she was briefly in Lavinder Town. _Why does it seem like I am truly at home when I am at Lavinder town or Icicle Castle. But imprisoned at Sun-Grove… _

"Earth to Sakura! Let's go!" Katie called again, Sakura snapped out of her daze and walked alongside Katie inside the Castle.

Meanwhile, back with Junior Team Sapphire, they just got their bearings and are getting ready to move off. After being humiliatingly beaten by eight Raider Scouts, they lost their pride as Scouts are the weakest members of the Raiders.

"Come on guys, you all just started! Don't need to upset over losing your first battle with the Raiders." Mat said, trying to cheer his junior team up; seeing their dull faces.

"Mat, we already told you… You give us the worst 'cheering up' talk ever." Arthur commented. "but you're right… we can't just give up here! We got to train up even more and redeem our pride as Explorers!" The irony that Mat gave the worst speeches while Arthur gives the best was hilarious to a few but the message was clear. They travelled together on the given path to Icicle Castle; the conversation soon turned to their new member.

"So this mystic? What pokemon is she?" asked Jasmine, Mat smiled but did not utter a single clue.

"You will know her when you see her, that is all I can say." Mat said cheerfully as they reached the gates of town.

At the same moment, Sakura was waiting alone in a room for Crystal to appear; Katie had left as she had other duties to help with her King. Sakura took off her cloak and neatly folded it into her Enlarged Bag. Her magical Ear wrap shone brilliantly and transformed into a crown on Sakura's head. Sakura took off the crown from her head and stared at it. _Strange? I didn't command it to transform… what could be going on?_

"I see that you are still unfamiliar what does that crown does when another respectable figure is nearby." A voice spoke, Sakura looked up only to see an elegant Glaceon that had visited her a few times: Crystal. Sakura popped the crown back on her head and stood up. They politely greeted each other before loosening on all strict courtesy. "Your crown is very special as whenever someone of equal or higher status than you approaches you, it will transform. However, you still have the control over it." Sakura understood and made the crown transform back into the ear wrap. Crystal's sharp eyes saw that the special key hidden amongst Sakura fur as well.

"Crystal, it has been awhile… So aren't you going to tell about this team?" Sakura asked, Crystal recovered from a slight daze and started to explain. They began to walk along the corridor, discussing about the team.

"Basically there are already four members, they are quite good at planning ahead but they lack the ability to carry them out." Crystal explained. "I was hoping that you can help them come up with effective solutions; you are a mystic after all. Of course they will be your 'bodyguards' as you travel around."

"Oh… I was hoping to escape the whole 'princess' status for a bit, it has been a little too… 'Overprotective'."

"Regardless, I have a feeling that the Raiders know who you are already. So they will aim to capture you." Crystal added, Sakura looked down without her noticing. "So consider yourself as the most important member." That joke was very dry as it made Sakura feel worse; jokes are meant to make pokemon laugh. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy yourself!" Crystal tried to come back. "Tell you what… why don't you go out into Icicle Castle and have fun till evening." They parted ways shortly after. Sakura took a short way other and just leaped out the window. Crystal sweat dropped when she saw Sakura jump.

Junior Team Sapphire walked down the glistening street of Icicle Castle to the Ice Palace when Arthur noticed pokemon had jumped out of the Palace and flashed on a cloak. "I really hope that is not our new member…"

Sakura landed softly despite jumping off from roughly twenty feet. She managed to use the power of Wind to her advantage. The rules of magic are ever changing and unfortunately, the power of words alone is too weak to invoke magic; Orbs take on an element to be able to be used. Sakura felt the change and adapted well; she hid under the shadow of her cloak and went around, wearing a big grin on her face. She turned and headed off to the market.

Junior Team Sapphire met up with their other leader, Crystal, in the castle: to get their briefing and task.

"I will brief everyone by evening, so take it easy for now." Crystal said when they arrived. "The rooms on the ground floor should be available."

As everyone joyfully turned to leave, Crystal asked Arthur to stay; Arthur was intending to do so even without her asking.

"Crystal… I…" Arthur started but Crystal cut him off.

"It has been awhile… after my over-reaction…" Crystal said, remembering the time after the mishap that took place months ago.

"_Arthur, I __**really**__ hope you are happy after this. It is because of __**you **__that Sakura is now in the castle and it would be __**your **__fault when she cries… Wait, it was __**already your fault **__when she cried just now!" Crystal screamed at Arthur before running off to Frozen Forests with hot tears rolling down her cheeks and tear-staining her face. That moment, Crystal felt that Arthur had betrayed her and more importantly Sakura. _

"Well, let me just say that I was impatient then… And to make it up to you, I got a surprise at the briefing later." Crystal finished, Arthur was left speechless. Tiny beads of water formed but none was able to roll.

"Thank you, Crystal. I will go now…" Arthur turned to leave. "Just promise me that this surprise is not going to kill me. That dancing scarf nearly choked me to death last time."

"Hehe… I promise." Crystal assured Arthur and he left the room. "I better take a gander out the window…"

Sakura had been to most of town and was just resting her feet by the fountain in the town square; in full view of Crystal from Ice Palace. A roselia twirl around the fountain; attracted Sakura's attention, appearing to be selling rare Snow Bells Flowers. Sakura had always adored plants so she decided to purchase one stalk. She took out one of her leftover containers to make a mini flower pot.

"My my! Don't they smell lovely?" the Roselia pointed out. Sakura, unable to make a comment since she didn't smell the Snow Bell yet, took a whiff of the flower. The aroma was intoxicating, but almost too intoxicating. Sakura's field of vision started to blur and fade into darkness, her strength and concentration began to fail her as she fell sideways before landing the hard stone ground, unconscious. The mysterious Roselia left behind the flower basket and Sakura's bag; picked up Sakura and started to make a mad dash to the uncharted route due east of Icicle Castle.

Crystal, from the highest tower, saw everything; wasting no time, she imitated Sakura's technique: jumping off the ledge of the castle, landing softly with the help of magic. Crystal took Sakura's bag and began to dash after the Roselia. As Crystal was giving chase, she sent wind Orb that flew back to Ice Palace to inform Junior Team Sapphire of what has happened.

Back in the castle, relaxing, Junior Team Sapphire suddenly saw an Orb flying towards them.

"That must be Crystal's orb, but what is it doing here?" Jasmine asked, Arthur approached the orb and it assumed the form of Crystal.

"Guys, the Raiders had poke-napped your new member. I am tracking them even as this message plays, come to the east exit of Icicle Castle and follow the marks I left."

"Alright! Come on, guys! This our chance to get our pride back!" Arthur called to his team members who leapt to their feet instantaneously. _Hold on, we are on our way!_


	5. Chapter 5

The Roselia carried Sakura through twists and turns of the uncharted path. Eventually, they reached the mouth of a cave that was blocked off with a heavy rock. Roselia waited patiently outside with Sakura snoozing on his shoulder. The Rock mysterious floated upwards, making a small opening just big enough for the both of them to pass through to the interior. The roof was abundant with rocky spikes; the floor was damp and slippery; noises ricocheted off the walls into an echo; the walls were uneven yet smooth. The cave was rather big but there are only two chambers. As Roselia strolled across the first chamber, Sableyes started to come out from the corners.

"Have you brought the target with you? Commander Elise would not be pleased if you didn't." one of the sableye snidely commented.

"Looks like you are born without eyes…" Roselia crudely replied and just proceeded onward where a Delcatty was waiting in front of a pre-made altar.

"Place her in the middle…" the Delcatty basically said. Roselia obeyed without question and after doing so, backed away from the mysterious surroundings. The Delcatty threw an orb and activated the process; the four differently colored obelisks lit up in their respective colors and shot out a beam of light that attached themselves to each one of Sakura's legs, rendering her unable to use any attacks or move. It also forces her to stand upright. "Perfect… now to write that ransom note."

Meanwhile, back at Icicle Caslte, Junior Team Sapphire met Mat on their way to the Eastern exit. Arthur briefly explained the situation to Mat as they are continuously sprinting.

"So your new teammate got kidnapped?" Mat checked as they reached the eastern gate.

"Crystal had gone after the kidnapper, she said she left a 'trail'," Arthur finished. Mat charged in front of everyone and led the way. Crystal and Mat are close explorers and they knew what each other would do; Crystal had left a semi-visible trail of shining orbs. The temperature accelerated upwards, they started to feel slightly humid in their winter gear. They took a brief pause to remove the unnecessary clothing before continuing the pursuit. Jasmine had pulled out the map and she noticed they are in an unexplored area, covered by clouds.

"I hope we do know how to get back…" Jasmine said out loud. Mat heard and reassured her that they will find a way back. They proceed further eastward, only to encounter Crystal.

"Hey guys, that kidnapper was sneaky. He managed to close this rock behind him; I can just barely lift it." Crystal panted; obviously she had tried to move the rock and tired herself out. Arthur went up to the rock and tapped on it; it was as hard as a boulder can be. He then saw a sparkle just above the boulder then an idea hit him.

"Had you tried magic?" Arthur asked and Crystal face-pawed herself. "I will take that as a no?" They all laughed and then Crystal conjured up more wind orbs and used it to form two pillars of rushing air and it easily lifted the boulder.

"Hurry through! I don't think I can maintain this much longer!" Crystal yelled, everyone quickly entered and Arthur nearly had his tail crushed as Crystal had tiringly dropped the boulder.

"My poor tail…" Arthur cried as he hugged his nearly crushed tail. "So gentle… like Sakura was."

"Pull it together, Arthur! We got company!" Mat exclaimed as Sableyes came out and surrounded them. The Roselia came out in the midst of them. They did not wait and just attacked the group. They scattered everywhere and exchanged attacks with each other. Jake used his thunderbolt attack but the floor was already damp so he shocked everybody save himself. Mat, Jasmine and Roselia are barely affected by the electricity but Arthur got paralyzed and Oliver is knocked out. Sableyes all came to a halt; Mat wiped most of them in one velvet swoop of his leaf blade. Roselia just started to twirl around in a strange dance; petals appeared and charged straight for Arthur as he was the easiest target. Jasmine noticed and unleashed her razor leaf and tried to counter one for one. Mat approached Arthur and did Aromatherapy. The sweet scent worked wonders and Arthur feel relieve to the static he had been experiencing. He charged forward into a powerful take down; dodging the petals without problems and impacted a significant amount of force on Roselia. He stumbles backwards as he had taken some damage. Roselia just fell backwards and was knocked out cold. However there are still Sableyes around and they are running out of options.

"Hey guys, we need to do some double attacks!" Mat called and only to get bewildered looks back. "Just follow my lead!" Mat leapt up and demonstrated: He first let loose an energy ball and followed hastily with Leaf Blade; the power of the leaf blade was transferred to the Energy ball and it exploded on one of the three Sableyes and knocking him out instantly. Everyone else got the hint and started to use the new method. Jake and Arthur clap their paws together and then started their double attack. Arthur launched his Shadow Ball first and Jake followed up used thunder bolt and it charged the Shadow Ball. Arthur and Jake rushed up to it and used their Iron Tails together and it sent it searing though the air and delivering an explosive aftermath. They defeated the remaining Sableyes easily.

"Come on, she might be held up ahead!"

Just beyond the archway, Sakura had already woken up from her sleep and was being taunted by Elise.

"You won't get away with this! Eventually, explorers will find you and arrest you." Sakura said darkly and Elise stared at her violet eyes. Elise laughed as she continued to walk around.

"Look who has grown up since our last encounter at the castle… you are nothing compared to my child Katie, you should have stuck to that orphanage…" Elise mocked but Sakura was not bothered as she was thinking of what she said. _Orphanage? What is she talking about?_ "Oh looks like we have company."

The team busted into the chamber and encountered Elise. Elise used magic to separate Mat from the rest of the team. Mat charged forward but he was lifted by magic then sent to the wall; knocking him out effectively. The separator wall dissipated and the team rushed to Mat who was knocked out. They are out of their element as it is not easy to beat a mystic with just normal attacks. Elise slowly turned her attention to the four.

"What a nice reunion…" Elise commented sarcastically. "Why don't you all just give up right here; you cannot expect to beat me!"

"Don't listen to her!" Sakura called out. "Yes she is tough to beat but not impossible! Try to use teamwork to your advantage!" Arthur and Jake ran in one direction while Jasmine and Oliver ran the other way. Jake and Arthur teamed up to distract Elise by engaging her in close combat with iron tail. Elise had two orbs of wind orbiting her; she used them to create a huge force that propels Arthur and Jake backwards. Jasmine and Oliver had just unleashed a Fire Spin- Energy Ball combo and it struck Elise squarely on the sides. Elise flew but she had conjured up four more orbs just in time to land safely. The combo clearly angered Elise greatly that she used most of her orbs to summon a tornado. Arthur dug down and Jake followed him. Jasmine and Oliver were caught in the winds and they flew; smacking into other debris that were also swept up. Sakura was not even moving with the furious air, the magical shackles attached to her kept her from moving. Jake and Arthur popped up in the eye of the storm and whacked Elise into her own storm. Oliver managed to pull through to the center and then tagged Jake who leapt up. Jasmine landed on Arthur and they fell into the hole that Arthur dug. Jake and Olive combined their Discharge and Flame Thrower into the tornado. The fusion of fire and electricity dealt more damage to Elise and soon the storm died down. They all re-group as Elise barely stood against them.

"Curses… look like you all improved, you will all regret this one day." Elise cursed at them before teleporting away. Everyone approached Sakura who was still ensnared by the magical obelisks.

"Hello, I am Arthur. Don't worry; we will get you out… as soon as I figure out how…" Arthur introduced himself to the cloaked pokemon.

"I figured it out already. Do you see those obelisks on the wall," Sakura pointed out. "If you can somehow destroy them or disable them… but they are rather durable." Arthur nodded and tried and Iron tail on one of the four. It failed to make an impression. "How about trying combos?"

A few seconds later, the shackles and the chain disappeared into thin air; Sakura was able to move again. As they approach the boulder, Arthur and Mat tried to call out to Crystal.

"Crystal! Can you lift the stone?"

"I can't do it alone! Can someone inside help me?" Crystal called back.

"Yeah our new member can help!" They replied. Sakura stood in front and used two water orbs and made a column of rising water that tossed the Boulder upwards. Crystal saw the pillar and used her magic to form a bridge through the water. Everyone quickly scrambled across as the boulder came back down. Without being noticed, it landed on a small portion of Sakura's cloak.

"Thanks… Oh yeah, you haven't told us your name." Arthur called to the pokemon.

"I am…" Sakura said but before she finished, her cloak's bindings came loose as the cloak was being tucked and came off.

"Sakura?!"


	6. Chapter 6

As the sun began to set from its peak position, Junior Team Sapphire stared at their new member who was their long old friend, Sakura. Crystal and Mat both looked neutral while the others had their jaws opened.

"Crystal… Mat…" Arthur slowly said. "This is your idea of a surprise?"

Crystal looked at Mat and they laughed. Sakura looked at the four pokemon cautiously then she recalled meeting them back in Frozen Forest.

"Oh it's you four! I remember that you all lost to a group of Scouts." Sakura commented making everyone blush as they were embarrassed that Sakura had to remember that impression of them. "Shouldn't we get going back? We can do the more formal introductions later."

As they all walked back, Arthur could not help but have his face turn red. Jasmine took it upon herself to get to know the 'new' Sakura.

"So how has things been for you?" Jasmine asked Sakura as they followed the same glistening trail back.

"It has been rather boring. I am glad to be able to come out and stretch my legs…" Sakura replied, their conversation took off from that. Jake noticed Arthur was blushing madly.

"So how does it feel to see your old 'girlfriend'?" Jake whispered to Arthur causing him to jump. Arthur was speechless, he felt happy but sad and at the same time blessed and guilty. Arthur really wanted to just go right up to Sakura and tell her everything but he couldn't. "Hey you need to step it up! She is no longer the Sakura you know months ago."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked, Jake slyly winked at him and went ahead. They reached the Ice Palace by evening. As they all sat in the grand dining room, Sakura was playing with her Magic orbs; Arthur was still trying to hide his reddening face; Jasmine is talking to Crystal; Oliver and Jake were debating about something. They did not have to wait for long before dinner was served; Sakura made her orbs disappear completely. Crystal looked at where everyone was seating before speaking.

"Sakura, could you move to the other end of the table? Your special batch of food will be served easier." Crystal suggested and Sakura, without hesitating, got up and walked across the room. Sakura had a strange reaction whenever she consumes Charm Berries: she would turn whacky and crazy. Since Charm Berries are plentiful across the world, Sakura had to be cautious. There is a part in Sakura that wished she does not have that allergy; she often times have to eat alone and have no pokemon to share her problems with. As she slowly munched on a Pecha berry, deep in thought, Arthur noticed her loneliness.

"Go on!" Jake nudged Arthur. Arthur was a little uneasy with this but nonetheless he slowly got up and trotted over to Sakura.

"Hello? Do you mind if I eat with you?" Arthur said, recalling the first time he met Sakura and her group of buddies for the first time back at Lavinder town.

"Oh of course not, find you don't mind food without Charm Berries." Sakura replied conditionally. Arthur smiled and settled beside her and they both started to enjoy the food and also each other's company. Things started to get even more awkward as the dinner progresses: there were a few times that they both reached for the same item and they both were unsure with each other; and to finish the dinner off…

"Would you excuse me?" both of them said to each other, looking into their eyes. Sakura could help but turn red too. They both left the dining room in a flash, flustered. Jasmine, Jake and Oliver all also got up and separated to go after either Sakura or Arthur; Jasmine will go talk to Sakura while Jake and Oliver will try and talk to Arthur.

Sakura retreated to a nearby restroom, her heart pounding extremely fast. She stared at herself in the mirror, seeing her reflection as her face had turned red as a Tamato berry. She washed her face several times, trying to forget the feelings that she had experienced just a moment ago. Jasmine walked in on her while she was washing her face.

"Are you alright?" Jasmine asked as she approached her. "You seem freaked out! Did Arthur do anything to scare you?"

"I think… I might have feelings for him." Sakura managed to say with her heart pounding like there is no tomorrow. Jasmine had heard this before as several months back, Sakura told her the same

thing when she was crying in a bush. "And I just cannot allow it…" That last sentence caught Jasmine off guard that she gargled on some water while cleaning up.

"What do you mean by that? Arthur actually likes you!" Jasmine responded directly, Sakura looked at her with a smile but she shook her head. "You don't allow it?"

"I mean it's nice to know that he likes me too but it wouldn't be fair to him at all. You see… if he and I go out, my father would know and he then loses his freedom. I don't want that to happen to any pokemon." Sakura explained. Jasmine gritted her teeth, wanting to suggest something else but looks like Sakura's mind is made up.

Meanwhile, with Arthur, he had run off to a balcony and laid his head on the stone railing, letting the wind play with his fur. His eyes closed and heart still skipping beats. Jake and Oliver both approached him casually.

"So how did it go?" Jake questioned. "Did Sakura like you?" Oliver was already trembling with excitement; both of them unable to tell that Arthur was upset. He sighed as the cold rigid air swept across him; he had messed up his opportunity.

"How do you think it went?" Arthur said sarcastically, not looking at them. Jake and Olive took the hint and began to comfort him. "She was so sweet, that sparkle in her eyes… I remember them all so well…"

"So you win some and you lose some." Oliver replied cheerfully. "The point is that you should not give up when it comes to Sakura, unless you want to lose her again like you did before?" Jake lightly punched Oliver in the stomach to shut him up but Arthur already heard what he spilled out.

"Don't worry Arthur, if you keep trying, Sakura will eventually like you again."

"Thanks…"

Now they all soon gathered in a room; Sakura and Arthur both avoiding each other's eye and also sat quite far apart with Jasmine, Jake and Oliver sitting between them. Crystal and Mat was going to

brief them about their missions. The Exploration Federation and the Raiders had been fighting each other for a long time and now the Federation wants any existing teams to investigate areas beyond their control; one such location is the eastern path from Icicle Castle. Team Sapphire had to explore that direction and try to extend the Federation's knowledge. There has been information that there is a town somewhere east to Icicle Castle and it is their first objective to reach that town and establish a connection with some of the locals there. There is no doubt they will encounter Raiders there so they do need to be cautious as if they fail, they might not return. Everyone was rather excited to embark on this adventure.

"Mat and I would be joining you as well; this is a crucial mission for the Federation." Crystal finished and everyone knew what they had to do. Crystal dismissed everyone to sleep but Sakura had to stay to receive her Magic independent study. Crystal shut the curtains on the darkening sky before talking to Sakura. "Here catch!"

Crystal lobbed a strange glass ball to Sakura who barely caught it in her paws. It was no bigger than a Oran berry and it shone with a purple glow. Sakura looked at it closely and the 'fog' inside the ball started to swirl.

"Snap out of it!" Crystal yelled and Sakura was rudely woken up from a trance. "You don't look it at until you master a certain aspect or you might just fail. Your assignment is to master teleportation using orbs." Sakura placed the orb inside her bag and nodded to Crystal; unable to render out any speech. "Are you alright?" Sakura seems to be distant and completely dazed.

"Sorry Crystal, but can I ask you something personal?" Sakura asked suddenly. Crystal kindly agreed but we partly regretted it afterwards. "How do you and Mat still stay together even when you are royalty?"

"It's like this, since Mat isn't royalty and he has a commitment to the Federation. He does not need to stay with me; in addition to that, I have my sister to help me handle some of the work as well." Crystal elaborated for Sakura. "So if you really like Arthur, you can pursue him without feeling that you will be hindering his life. He is free to visit you whenever."

"How do you know?" Sakura said hastily and blushing at the same time.

"It's obvious with your pink face," Crystal giggled. "Go on now and get some sleep."


	7. Chapter 7

With their mission given and any early doubts cleared. Junior Team Sapphire all lay on their respective beds, separated. Sakura was reading one of her mystic books: The ties of energy, which talks about how the mind rules the body to do supernatural stunts. The book was also floating in mid-air, control with the use of a Wind Orb that created a light air current strong enough to lift the book. Arthur was trying his best to catch her eye.

Awhile back, Crystal had found a time to talk with everyone else. Jasmine was rather cynical about the relationship between Arthur and Sakura as Sakura had told her that she was not interested. She brought up this point in front of Crystal who told her the other side of the story and thus everything was nearly back to normal. Arthur had become more ambitious about his chances.

Nightfall was already upon them. Suddenly Arthur remembered something important: Cynthia should be rehearsing somewhere. He quickly got up and left the room. Sakura saw and was very curious about where he was going and decided to follow after him. It was a quiet night and Sakura had to tip-toe to keep her paws from making any sound and also keep up with Arthur as he was literally jumped down flights of stairs. They soon reached the courtyard and Arthur got a suspicion that someone had been tailing him. He made a do a sharp turn and attempt to attack his follower. Sakura, who did not expect it, was hit by the tackle but she managed to land on her two feet once again. Arthur slowly made out who was it and eased up.

"Oh I am so sorry." Arthur apologized but it was his instinct to react that way. Sakura coolly walk up to him and said:

"Your tackle still needs some work. That was very weak." Sakura replied, Arthur lost his pride again. "What are you doing out so late?" Arthur recovered from his embarrassment and showed a sly smile.

"I will only tell you if you catch me!" Arthur called out as he ran ahead. Sakura giggled at how childish he was but played along and ran after him. The chase was not as expected: whenever Sakura nearly catches Arthur, he uses extreme speed to jump just a small distance ahead. Sakura eventually caught him and they were outside the Ice Theater.

"Now you will tell me what you are doing so late," Sakura panted as she pinned Arthur down. Arthur had tried to get up but Sakura had gotten a lot stronger than before so he had to humiliate himself by asking very politely.

"My sister, Cynthia, she is a Pokemon Star. And I am her part-time manager. She should be rehearsing in the Ice Theater." Arthur explained, "I think you might have heard of her: she is rather popular around Lavinder Town and did a few shows in Sun-Grove. She is Cold Heart." Sakura's expression turned from triumphant to delight as they entered the impressive and glistening theater. The theater was unlike any other build which seems to be made up of ice blocks; instead the theater was made with normal materials yet appearing spectacular. There was already something happening on stage, Arthur calmly walks up to his sister who had just finished another round of performance.

"What took you so long? I arrived since evening," Cynthia told Arthur who apologizes and explains why he had taken so long. Sakura was not far behind him but as she was just approaching another pokemon, a Serperior, burst out in a worried voice.

"Oh Cold heart, this is terrible!" the Serperior said in the most dramatic way possible. Cynthia turned her attention immediately to her. "The other actress that was supposed to play as Jade just fell down the stairs and cannot continue! What are we going to do?" Cynthia and Arthur both thought hard for a split-second before Sakura came into view.

"Arthur, aren't you going to introduce me?" Sakura asked, in her sweet normal voice. Suddenly everyone snapped their heads in her direction. "Something wrong?" Before Sakura knew it someone had tossed her into the air and twisted her around several times, causing her to be disorientated.

"She's perfect! Crew prep her! We got a performance at nearly three hours from now," Serperior finished before tossing her to the production crew where they took Sakura to the make-up department. Arthur and Cynthia followed slowly behind. Sakura, being completely dazed, was unable to see the situation that she had gotten herself into. Pokemon surrounding her were either putting on make-up or doing her fur which she left extremely messy after chasing Arthur. Sakura kept her eyes closed until all the tinkering stopped. When she opened her violet eyes, she saw that they had powdered some of her fur into emerald green and she was wearing some sort of petite dress with fake flowers tied to her ear wrap. She looked at herself in amazement, utterly stunned at how she looked like nature.

"Wow just a perfect match, don't you think so director?" Cynthia commented as she strolled over to see Sakura. Arthur was making Sakura nervous by circling her, looking at her new style.

"I cannot agree more, come on time for rehearsal!" the Serperior called and Sakura found herself hauled off to stage. Sakura didn't know what to do but Cynthia was kind enough to give her some quick tips. Sakura is playing Jade, one of the minor but important characters in the show. In this act,

Sakura has to act out a typical flower-picking day then leave the major parts to Cynthia and the other main actor. She was given no time at all to memorize the script or even try out anything. Sakura was just pushed on stage and the curtains opened. Sakura walked forward, slightly awkwardly, to the first fake flower patch and began her act by imagining herself back home in the greenhouse. She did not have to wait long before she heard the next line.

"Ahh the girl whom I was looking for… now you will either tell me where that rose I want is or suffer!" a voice exclaimed from behind one of the set: a Zoroark came out from the shadows, wearing a dark cloak and a mask. Sakura, while looking amongst the flowers, found a small box that contained a rose and took it out. When she saw the mysterious pokemon, she started to back off slowly as if it were real. Her expressions were not lacking either. She just got to mid stage when Cynthia came in to the view as Jade's older sister, Swan. Elegantly dress to look like a warrior of a tribe, she stood out boldly.

"Hold it right there you fiend," Cynthia called out as Sakura slipped behind her. "You will not bully my sister however you like." Turned around and gave Sakura a light hug, before continuing.

"Swan, we both know that you cannot win me at all." The Zoroark mocked and highlighting his sharp claws; Sakura naturally stepped backwards. Cynthia stood her battle stance and made direct eye contact with the other actor. "Let's see how you fare in a quick battle." They started to fight almost for real; Sakura was taken away by their impressive 'fake' fight. Despite being dazed at what to do next, she did not have to move around much as Zoroark grabbed her and the flower and flew back to the side. Sakura did some light struggling whilst in Zoroark's grasp.

"You coward! Have you no honor?" Cynthia cursed out loud as Zoroark is laughing in triumph. "Jade!"

"Your sister would be a fine feast for the wolves. Swan, I suggest you learn how to fight properly next time." Zoroark laughed as he disappeared backstage. Leaving Cynthia to do the ending; finishing the rehearsal. Backstage, Zoroark gently let Sakura down.

"Thank you for everything."

"Not at all, your acting was very natural. It is impressive." Serperior came in and looked very happy.

"Bravo, Dan and Sakura did super well! Cynthia was brilliant as always! With you three, this show will be a hit." Serperior declared. Sakura was reddening by the minute. Arthur came in with a particular looking camera as well as Cynthia from the stage and a special guest: Frosty. Sakura's crown unexpectedly appeared on her head and without anyone noticing she changed it back quickly but she had to re-bind the tower "Oh Frosty my dear, careful. You don't want to strain yourself."

"Frosty!" Sakura exclaimed loudly as they embraced each other. Sakura and Frosty met when Crystal came to visit a few months back. Frosty was a frail Glaceon that cannot do anything too physical and due to the recent surge change in Magic, she also lost her ability as a mystic. She normally stays in the Ice Palace and help Crystal with her share of work as being a royalty but ocassionally comes down to Ice Theater to watch performances. "How have you been?"

"I am fine; your acting just now was great! Did you take any lessons?" Frosty asked, clearly a big fan of pokemon stage play. Sakura shuffled slightly, Frosty simply adores Sakura as she reminded her of what she liked to be when she was an Eevee herself. "Arthur here was also so engrossed that he ran to get a camera." Sakura then noticed that Arthur was holding her camera.

"Oh that is mine, did you take any good pictures?" Sakura asked as Arthur passed her the collection of picture he had taken during the rehearsal. Mostly all of the cutest moments were perfectly captured, Sakura was laughing through each. "Wow they are funny."

"I will be taking more when you are performing later!" Arthur finished as they went back to practice once more, there are now last minute improvisation lines added for Sakura due to her natural talent and a couple of changes for the other few pokemon as well to better use of their newest member's charm. A few hours passed the show is about to begin as the narrator came out with the script.

-Note: at this point is the show already, so parts will be repeated-

_A bright and delight morning dawned on Silent Plains where the Serenity Tribe lives. A young Eevee called Jade has ventured out alone as she had always done to collect flowers for her sick mother. Jade had another reason to be out alone: just the other day, she found a mysterious lotus by a spring, it was made entirely from crystal and it glows a gentle azure blue. Jade had hidden it amongst one of the flower patches she visits every day. Jade was checking up on the Crystal Lotus when someone nearby decided to come into view. Jade manages to retrieve the Crystal Lotus when the cloaked Pokemon appeared right in front of her. _

"_Ah, sweet little girl. Why don't you just hand over that flower and you don't get hurt?" the mysterious man said, Jade had exposed the flower to the pokemon. The Crystal Lotus, unknown to Jade, was an extremely powerful flower that tempts the hearts of greed and it has wondrous healing properties so it is very valuable. Jade was scared and was backing away slowly; the flower to her was a good luck charm to her family. _

"_You can't have it, it means a lot to my family," Jade said, the cloaked figure laughed at her. _

"_What could you possible want that flower for? Its healing properties are too valuable to be in the hands of a young girl such as you." _

"_Wait… are you saying this flower can help someone recover?" Jade muttered and then she tried to make a break for it but the clocked figure moved swiftly blocking her path. Things were looking bad as Jade cannot reach the tribe for help. _

"_You leave my sister alone, Derrick." An elegant Leafeon appeared from right behind Jade: it was Swan, Jade's protective sister. She also had seen the Crystal Lotus in Jade's paw. "Jade, go hide!" Swan ordered but Jade ran behind her. "Not behind me!" _

_Flustered Jade then hid behind a rock; Swan and Derrick started to fight each other, cleverly using their tail and claws respectively to engage each other. Jade saw them fighting, unable to stand conflict, she decided to run away first. However, Derrick noticed and made a grab for her which ultimately succeeded. _

"_Have you no shame? Release my sister!" Swan called out. Jade was struggling fruitlessly in Derrick's grasp; the Crystal Lotus was in Jade's paws. _

"_Let's see… your sister is almost no use to me but the lotus is a different story. Unless she hands it over, she might be coming with me for a ride to the Wolf Clan." Jade was looking between the flower in her paws and Swan. It was either her wellbeing or her dear sick mother. Jade then lobbed the Crystal Lotus to Swan who caught it easily then she bit Derrick's arm causing him to release her. Taking advantage of the situation, Swan charged and continued the assault and Jade was threw up into the air and landed painfully. Derrick eventually fled as he could not get what he wanted. _

"_Jade! Why are you so silly? Mom would have wanted you to live!" Swan, scolding her only sister, tears is running down her face. "Where did you find the flower?" As they returned to their village, Jade took the whole story to her family when her mother recovered. And so carried down through the generation. _

The performance ended on a good note as everyone cheered (mostly for Cynthia as she was fairly popular) happily as they rushed to get the actors' autograph. Sakura was backstage, cheerfully looking through all the pictures that Frosty and Arthur had shot for her. One whole page of her album was now dedicated to her time in Icicle Castle. There are some pokemon who was asking for Sakura's autograph but they were late as Sakura had teleported herself to meet up with Arthur and Frosty on the way to the castle.

Crystal was strolling past when she saw the three of them, the smiles on their faces faded quickly.

"Don't need to look so glum, just have enough sleep before tomorrow." Crystal laughed as they all parted ways, what a way to spend a night.


	8. Chapter 8

Sakura stood blankly within the foggy confines of her dreamland, her body started to float around as muffled voices can be heard. Sakura can barely make up what they are saying but they sounded worried and anxious. Since the voices are barely audible, she simply went back to her dreamless sleep.

Morning seems to approach extremely quickly for Sakura as she slowly woke up for her sleep. It was still very early in the morning, the sun have not risen about its horizon. That strange dream was really more of a nightmare to Sakura, it was very uncommon and she felt her head delivering a sharp pain. She searched for her pill that Katie had left her previously but before she took one, the pain had slowly melted away. Relieved, she began to look at the pill suspiciously. They do not look like ordinary pills at all, in fact, it seems rather odd. She decided to stop taking those pills until she knows what it is exactly and hid it within her bag. She got up silently and tried to reach the balcony but then, as she opened the door, the rush of cold morning air blew it and sent some of her team plowing into their thick blankets. Sakura looked over the southern end of Icicle Castle. It was really a picturesque view; the impending sun rays are turning the dark blue sky into a gradient from the bright crimson to the lightening azure blue sky. Sakura took out her camera and took a snapshot of the scenery in Icicle Castle; her album's second and third page has been filled up with all of the pictures of last night. She had made herself increasing popular in the performance department and she had been offered a job as well if ever she needs one. 'Cold Heart', more commonly called as Cynthia: Arthur's older sister also made her performance last night one of her best. Cynthia was invite to play in other performance in Florinda Town that is due west of Lavinder town and due Northwest of Sun-Grove.

"Do you always wake up this early?" asked someone nearby: Sakura could recognize as Arthur: he had woken up from the cold chill. "Can you keep the temperature the way it was? Our fur tends to get cold throughout the night."

"You just need to learn how to deal with the cold fur," Sakura said as she herself went through a couple of lessons to deal with the cold.

"The view is pretty beautiful, isn't it?" Arthur said, trying to keep a conversation going. Sakura completely ignored Arthur's question, just deviling in the tranquility. The sun slowly rose, Sakura and Arthur had returned to their room to organize their inventory. Sakura had some rope, berries, a camera, an album, and some medical supplies. Arthur had a larger arsenal of berries than Sakura and he also has some seeds. The two early-risers were also the last ones to sleep. Crystal came in to check in on them; only Sakura and Arthur are awake that time.

"Did you both have a wonderful night?" Crystal asked. Both Eevees can already tell what is going to happen next. "You two come with me: morning exercise, the rest will join up when they wake up."

Sakura and Arthur expected worse but nonetheless complied with the early workout. They decided to run the exterior of the Ice Palace which was quite a big distance to cover. Both Crystal and Sakura are doing fairly well but Arthur was lacking behind. Arthur did not have as much training as Crystal and Sakura so it is natural.

"Do I have to protect you all the way through this adventure?" Sakura curiously asked as she finished the run. Arthur, panting, blushed under the sweat. They all took a sip of water before returning to the Castle for a morning shower. Things were going typically well for a morning and soon the whole team are awake and they ate breakfast. (The morning run was to punish Sakura and Arthur only). Once again, Sakura and Frosty met and they sat separately from the rest. As they helped themselves to some pokebread, the other team members, excluding Sakura who was talking to Frosty happily, discussed about the next town that they currently do not know too much about.

"According to sources, they said that the town is called Spring Town and it had been taken over by the Raiders." Crystal explains the situation to them. "But there has be some pokemon who is calling for help or the federation would not have received this information."

"True, so we just need to discover the location and help whatever resistance is there?" Jasmine commented.

"It won't be easy either as I believe the Raiders know that we are going to trying to reach Spring Town." Mat also added in. "Another thing to consider is Sakura… the Raiders had made it very clear that they are going to try and capture her because they wanted something from Sun-Grove Castle."

"Jake and I can take care of Sakura, while you four do the mission." Arthur poured in, everyone was considering: Arthur and Jake are a pretty potential team and combined with Sakura's capabilities, they should not have a problem. However, their strength is more needed in the front that at the back, Jasmine and Oliver are great but they have very common weakness. Crystal and Mat are not going have enough strength to manage everyone so they have to at times fend for themselves.

Completely clueless, Sakura and Frosty both are enjoying breakfast together; suddenly Sakura took out her bottle of pills.

"Can you tell me what these pills are? These have been stopping my headaches recently?" Sakura asked as she showed Frosty the pills. Frosty took a close look at the pills and sure enough: they are magical pills.

"Where did you get this? These are not headache pills, but memory pills." Frosty asked, Sakura was shocked to hear that it was memory pills and did not know what to say. Thing began to turn suspicious for Sakura as those pills were the same as the ones she had been taking which can only mean one thing: her dad was hiding something and is stopping her from remembering. Sakura was rather angry about the pills that she crushed the bottle and discarded it.

"I need to speak with my dad at once…" Sakura muttered before she left in rage. Arthur and Crystal noticed Frosty's face and it was worrisome so they rushed to see what was Sakura so mad about.

Meanwhile, Sakura had found a scheduled area and had started a magical link between the King and herself: Both being mystics, they have the ability to communicate with each other.

"_Sakura? What's the matter?" _

"_Are you hiding something from me? Why did you give me memory pills to soothe my headaches?" _

"_Oh… so you figured it out? As expected of a princess…" _

"_Please tell me what is going on…" _

"_Since you stopped taking those dreadful pills, you will remember eventually… Sakura please be careful, bad things are stalking close." _

"_Alright… Thanks,"_

With that Sakura stopped the link and sat down awkwardly: something was amidst. Her dad was not the unreasonable type and most unlikely someone who scheme for personal gain. Who could have possibly done it... Arthur and Crystal came in a little late; Sakura's eyes are welling up with water and some had dripped onto the floor.

"What happened here?" Crystal asked softly, the situation was bleak for all of them. "Come on Sakura, it's time to go…"

"Please don't cry… you are prettier when you smile," Arthur said, looking straight into her teary eyes. Sakura looked into his dark blue ones, unknowingly, they both reddened at the sight of each other. To Sakura, Arthur was like a brother to her and nothing more. Despite whatever he might do, she still felt that he is being kind to her. However, unlike what she thinks of Arthur, Arthur still feels that Sakura was the same as from before and still bear the same feelings for him.

_No… I can't just sit and cry about this!_ Sakura then stood up, wiping her tears that dissipated fairly quickly. Arthur and Crystal did not catch the situation and they all gather outside to begin their adventure. They all took of their winter gear as from earlier; the path to the supposed Spring Town was rather warm. They had to endure the cold for a while as they proceeded into the forest that was named: Wind Trail. The temperature had ascended as they continued. The morning sunshine seeped through the leaves showing the true colors of the forest. As pre-planned, Arthur and Jake were walking beside Sakura while Crystal, Mat, Jasmine and Oliver were up front. They walked alongside a river, hoping to get to Spring Town quickly that way. There were some pokemon doing their typical morning routine around the area; nothing seems suspicious. It was a bright and sunny day. They all were naturally in a good mood so they decided to stop by the river while gathering their bearings.

"Jake can you climb that tree and figure out where we outta go? The wonder map can't update without a landmark." Crystal asked as she checked the map. "Jasmine, use your vine whip to support him in case he fall." Given orders, Jake and Jasmine nimbly started to carry out what they been told. The rest took a break on the rocks; Sakura felt parched so she went closer to the water to take a sip.

"Sakura what are you doing?" Crystal asked when she noticed Sakura approach the water.

"I am just thirsty that's all," Sakura replied and she took a sip of water; Arthur, being assigned to protect Sakura, was not too far behind.

"Spring Town is due northeast!" Jake shouted from above. However, there was movement around them; some from across the river, most from the surrounding bushes. A group of Deerlings and their leader, a Sawsbuck, came out and surrounded the team. While an army of Joltik and their leader, a Galvantula, popped out over the other side. Team Sapphire did not expect to see so many pokemon. Crystal's sharp eye confirms the Raiders logo on all the Deerlings. The Joltik leapt over and attached themselves onto Arthur and Sakura who were the closest. They started paralyze them by emitting electricity; Sakura fell down into the river due to the shock and was carried downstream due north.

The Joltik that were on Sakura leapt off at the last second. Arthur was rendered immobilized, unable to save Sakura. Oliver managed to keep the Deerlings at bay with Flamethrower. Jasmine went over to Arthur to help him get rid of the Joltik.

"We have to help Sakura!"


	9. Chapter 9

Tumbling around and around in the fast currents of the river was Sakura. She had lost consciousness and was like a log floating down the river. Eventually she got washed up somewhere unknown and some of her berries were lost. The sun shone on Sakura's damp fur as she lay on the ground. However, when she was being swept away, Sakura had hit her head on a rock.

Her brain received a jolt and her memory was jogged slightly. She is now hearing the same voices in her head; slightly clearer this time. Sakura can tell that they are talking about her but could not make out what they are saying exactly and who was the owner of the voice. A Snivy was just passing by Sakura when she spotted her. Mysteriously, Sakura's Silver and Amber Ear Wrap started to sparkle upon the presence of the Snivy.

"Huh? What's that?" Snivy asked herself, the sparkle catching her attention. She made her way across the bushes, coming to the side of the river where she discovered Sakura. "Strange, we don't normally see Eevees around here. She must have come from the western path. Regardless, I better take her somewhere safe."

Meanwhile, back with the chaos at Wind Trail, Team Sapphire was taking a bad beating from the two groups of Raiders. Arthur, Jasmine and Jake are fighting the Joltik and Galvantula while Crystal, Mat and Oliver are battling Deerling and Sawsbuck. Strangely, Galvantula's team had retreated leaving Sawsbuck's team to take on the Explorers. Arthur, Jasmine and Jake thought that it was all too lucky for them as they do not have to fight overwhelming numbers. Crystal and Mat are now sparing with Sawsbuck, their leader, while the rest of the team is fighting one on one with a Deerling. Energy Balls flew in all direction, some narrowing missing some team members. Arthur returned a Shadow ball to the Deerling which completely knocked him out; Jasmine traded hits with her opponent and the Deerling eventually lost; Jake used his iron tail to rebound the Energy ball back to its sender; Oliver easily took out his opponent with flamethrower. Crystal and Mat were having a rough time fighting Sawsbuck.

Sawsbuck used Horn Leech to great effect against Crystal and Mat as he kept regaining energy. When Crystal and Mat tried a double attack, he used his Nature Power and since he was on grass, it became a spray of seed bombs. The bombs created a massive cloud of dust and using it effectively, he charged up a solar beam attack. Jasmine sensed that something is going on and then unleashed her Sweet Scent. It had been made clear to everyone that Jasmine's Sweet Scent is the cue to let everyone know that there is something strange going on. Everyone smelled the scent and immediately ran out of the dust cloud or dug underground. When the dust settled slightly, the solar beam was fired blindly and it hit nothing. Team Sapphire counter-attacks and ended it swiftly. Sawsbuck smiled before he was teleported away.

Team Sapphire felt very uneasy with Sawsbuck's grin. Arthur then realized something and cold sweat started to fall. Crystal noticed his expression, clueless about what is wrong.

"What's wrong?" Crystal asked slowly, bracing herself for bad news.

"Galvantula's team… they retreated so suddenly. Sakura fell down the river; they must be trying to catch her and thus travelled downstream!" Arthur said, linking everything together. The rest of the team caught up with the situation and they sprint downstream quickly, in hopes of finding Sakura before Galvantula and his team does.

However, Sakura was now resting in a wood shack that Snivy had brought her too. While she carried her there, Sakura's crown had transformed itself and remained in that state. Snivy was shocked at what she saw as it was unnatural. Sakura eventually stirred and Snivy's wait was over.

"What… Where?" Sakura started as she sat up. The crown dropped into her paws, the Snivy was watching closely with arms crossed.

"Care to explain the crown? Are you a thief or something?" Snivy asked suspiciously. Sakura was uneasy to change it back with someone watching her. With Magic's rules ever-changing, mystics do have to be careful on who they leak the information to. "Is it yours?" Sakura can only nod in response. "Well this is strange, because the only person that crown can belong to is a princess."

"Well… I," Sakura began but they both heard noises from the outside and they both fell silent. Sakura took the chance that the Snivy was distracted and changed the crown into her ear wrap. As someone burst through the front door, Snivy stood her ground: it was Galvantula.

"Well if it isn't Aries… Oh! The princess of Sun-Grove, Sakura, is here as well." Galvantula laughed at being able to kill two birds with one stone. Aries's suspicions were confirmed about Sakura and she unleashed a Leaf Storm in the wood shack, causing a distraction. Aries grabbed onto Sakura's bag and dragged her out with her. They ran off into the forest, Aries leading the way while Sakura was been forced to follow behind. They came upon a tree with a hole and inside it was another hole going down. Aries pushed Sakura in then followed behind her. They came to a secret base with a couple of home furniture.

"Sit down…" Aries said as she came down. Sakura, unsure of what to do, obeyed unquestioningly. Aries took a berry from the storage box and ate It in one bite before coming to talk to Sakura, her tone was slightly loosen than before. "So you are Princess Sakura? Well sorry that you had to see all this… but Spring Town isn't really doing too well."

"Wait how do you know who I am?" Sakura asked after she heard her name. Aries laughed and show her a strange looking badge that Sakura had never seen before. "What is this? It is not the explorer badge…"

"It is the Rescuer badge…" Aries said softly. "I am part of the Rescuers: they are a group of pokemon that are called upon to rescue other pokemon. We only work around Spring Town, Sliver Cove, Jube Town, Coral Town and also Wike Island…"

"Why do you seem sad?" Sakura asked, she clearly noticed that Aries was upset. "Does that badge remind you of something?"

"It's the Raiders… they destroyed what was left of the Rescuers' headquarters , now the rest of us are either hiding or captured by the raiders…" Aries poured out as she cried. Sakura sympathetically comforted her. "I even messaged the Explorers for help…"

"Wait you are the pokemon who told the federation about this? My team was sent here to help." Sakura replied and Aries's face brightened up. "We were trying to reach Spring Town first so we can help whatever resistance is there."

"You should have said that sooner, I am part of that resistance. I know who you need to speak to; I will take you right to them." Aries first climbed out of the Secret base and inspect the area before Sakura came out. "Spring Town is quite close so we could… Hide!" Aries pulled Sakura into some bushes as Galvantula and his team arrived.

"Fan out and search for them, they could not have gotten far…" Galvantula ordered as the tiny Joltik ran amok. Things are looking bad as Joltik were very small and they would be able to discover Sakura and Aries easily. Aries was aware of that. They were just about to move away from the hiding spot when they got discovered. The Joltik discharged electricity and stunned Sakura while sending a signal. Aries swiped off the Joltik on Sakura and they both ran out of the bushes but above them, an electro web trap was waiting for them. The web ensnared them and it stunned Sakura. Aries, being a grass type, was not too affected; she was about to use Leaf Blade to escape but Galvantula used his bug buzz and it hurt Aries a lot. Soon both of them are unconscious in the web.

Team Sapphire was a step too late as they reached the scene; they searched around for clues and discovered the Rescuer badge and Sakura's Explorer badge.

"Something is wrong here… We need to split up," Crystal suggested. "We need to find Sakura and another to go to Spring Town and gather information. We need to be careful in picking the members." They thought about it for a while and eventually Arthur, Crystal, Mat and Jake are going to track down Sakura while Oliver and Jasmine go to Spring Town and gather information. Since they are late by a step, they need to hurry to find Sakura.

"Hey Crystal, what is this Rescuers' Badge?" Arthur asked Crystal.

"Rescuers are very noble pokemon, they answer to the call of pokemon in trouble. They helped a lot of pokemon across the globe; they are also very different from explorers: they operate as independent teams and just ask the Rescuer Association for missions or anything administrative." Crystal explained. "When I was young, rescuers are the only profession for pokemon but when explorers appeared… they started to lose popularity because their training is a lot tougher than explorers and they are paid much lesser than explorers."

"Something must have happened to the Rescuers… they just suddenly disappeared, and now a member appears after so long." Mat added in. "Whoever this member is, I think he is with Sakura."

The sun reached the peak and started to descend, and at somewhere unknown were Aries and Sakura. They were forcefully taken to a strange location but they cannot tell where as they had been blind-folded. Aries and Sakura both have shackles attached to their arms and feet. When their blind-folds were taken off, they saw for a split-second a jail-cell before they were thrown in. Sakura's bag and Aries's sack was taken away and placed at the guards' table. When Sakura looked around for her badge, it was missing.

"… My badge is gone... with it, I could just teleport out of here…" Sakura muttered to herself.

"Don't need to beat yourself; my precious Rescuer Badge is lost too…" Aries said softly. "It holds all the times that my partners and I were rescuing pokemon."

"I'm sorry… I know that badge means a lot to you," Sakura managed to say out as the chains rattled. The concrete wall and the cold steel bars created a dark atmosphere. There was something strange embedded in the steel shackles: dragon scale. (The detrimental material that renders any mystic unable to use their powers) Sakura had tried to summon an orb but it failed as if it was not even attempted.

"Magic doesn't work with these shackles on…" Aries whispered to Sakura, who was shocked. "Yes I knew about magic. I am the leader of the resistance and daughter of the former major of Spring Town."

"No wonder… my crown reacts to anyone note-worthy." They enjoyed a light chatter as the light came in from the small crack on the roof and it triggered Aries attention.

"Wait a minute… that crack. I believe we are somewhere in Spring Town; in fact I had been here before." Aries commented. "If I am not wrong, my friends are also in here." Sakura brightened up but Aries did not have the same expression. "But if they could escape, they would have done it by now…" Sakura's hopes got shattered in an instant and then she lowered her head onto the cold ground.

"That is just great…" Sakura said with her face hidden. _Guys, please come soon._


	10. Chapter 10

At Spring Town, Oliver and Jasmine walked awkwardly into town. The pokemon there were either avoiding their eyes or completely ignoring them. Despite that, the roads of cobblestone and houses made elegantly from wood. The town was truly an example of the Garden of Eden period; Jasmine and Oliver looked around and realized something: the town has the Raiders' influence all over the place.

"The pokemon here are not going to be too friendly with us… we best look around quickly then get out before anything goes wrong." Jasmine whisper to Oliver as more uncomfortable stares came from the sides. Their explorer badges were glistening in the sunlight whilst they look around for anything that might be crucial for their mission. They took a look around; charting their wonder map as they went along. The most impressive building was the mayor's office building. Unlike their region, Spring Town, instead of monarchy, they run on the presidential system. Currently the Raiders are in charge, Jasmine and Oliver felt that they better finish up what they have to do then meet up the others quickly.

"Excuse me?" someone asked from behind, softly. Jasmine and Oliver turned around to see a Servine, "Can I speak to the both of you privately?" Jasmine and Oliver came over to the house and inside the house was Pignite and Dewott; they all quickly bolted the door; shut the windows and drew the curtains.

"Are you all from the resistance?" Jasmine asked outright. The three nodded but they do not look very happy. "Is there something wrong?"

"We are losing the fight against the Raiders in Spring Town… they captured almost everyone in the resistance," Servine said, glaring at the explorers. "It is good that you came but you may have come a little too late. Even with the two of you, we are still very short-handed."

"We are not the only ones that came; the others are looking for our friend that the Raiders kidnapped." Oliver added in. That lightened the mood up. "There are about six of us coming to help."

"That's perfect! This battle isn't ending yet," Pignite responded.

"I think I know where your friend is being held at: my sister had escaped before once," Servine replied as she pulled out a written map. "No doubt they improved security since her escape… but I got a plan."

Meanwhile, Crystal's team had followed the clues left behind by Galvantula all the way to Spring Town. They entered the town in a tight group as things were not looking very friendly; there were raiders almost everywhere in town and they are spying on them.

"This doesn't look good, how can we fight so many?" Arthur whispered to Crystal. He was right: without the resistance's help, they are severely outnumbered and it's a matter of time before they find out.

"If we are lucky, we don't have to. We need to link up with…" Crystal started but a group of raiders came out and attacked them without reason. They are slowly getting outnumbered as more came out to join the fight. The fighting attracted everyone's attention. Servine saw what was going on and it was a great opportunity.

"Paul, go round up everyone and help the explorers! Rest of you comes with me, time to burst out everyone from the Mayor's Office." Servine ordered. "Oh nearly forgot, I am Sylva." Jasmine and Oliver only then noticed their badges, it was the Rescuers badge. They ran amongst the chaos of villagers looking at the scene to the Mayor's office. Since all of the Raiders are busy fighting Crystal's side, there should not have any pokemon stopping them from rescuing the resistance members. The Mayor's office has a basement which is often used to contain people that were arrested for various reasons. They were very wrong when they encounter Galvantula's trap. They all got caught up by the web; Sylva quickly swiped it off with her leaf blade while endure minor shocks and a dose of bug buzz. Sylva blew the Joltik away with Leaf Storm while her members recovered.

"You all go to the basement! Release everyone then help those explorers. I want first crack at this guy." Sylva said aggressively. Everyone ran down the spiral staircase, leaving Galvantula to Sylva. Slyvia unleashed Magical Leaf and it hit well on Galvantula. He retaliated using Signal beam and it was super effective if it hits. Sylva barely dodges it and twists back and shot a leech seed at Galvantula who catches it with Spider Web. Galvantula then quickly used Flash and it blinded Sylva for a while; he started to over-charge the Charge Beam for a final attack.

Meanwhile, the rag-tag team of Rescuers and Explorers preceded one level down and they discovered all of the captured resistance members.

"Where could those keys be?" Jasmine asked herself. "More importantly, where is Sakura?"

The keys for the basement are stashed in the Office Room; but there is a secret room in the Office Room as well. Sakura and Aries thought that they are underground but in reality, they are aboveground and a level up. Sakura was still helpless in her cell. Aries had been inspecting the surroundings; she was the master of escaping.

"Hey Sakura come here… and hold still or your tail might get sliced off." Aries whispered and then she gathered energy from the small crack and then charged up her leaf blade to slice the shackles. Sakura was shaking non-stop as due to the 'slice off the tail' threat, the leaf blade weakened the chains between the shackles. "Hmm that should be weak enough for you to pull them apart." Sakura tried and it came off easily.

"Thanks now let me get yours…" Sakura said and then she used her iron tail to break shackles completely. "There… now do we get out of here?" Aries pointed up at the crack that she used to power herself up. "Then how do…" Before Sakura can answer, Aries has started to attack the crack to make it wider. Sakura caught on fast and joined in using Shadow Ball to pry the crack open.

Back in the lobby, Sylva was losing to the Galvantula. She was barely dealing any damage but she doing well at dodging whatever is thrown at her. Oliver and Jasmine came out to look for the key.

"What are you two doing?" Sylva called out at the two pokemon, but she was distracted then she gets stuck with a bug bite.

"Oliver you help her! I will find the keys." Jasmine told Oliver so they separated. Sylva accepted Oliver's help as she knew she had her limits. Jasmine dove into the Office Room and encounter another problem: there are a lot of keys in the cabinet. She looked around and took the two keys that she finds the most promising, then just when she about to leave the impressive room; she heard something from behind the book shelves: some explosive noises and voices.

"Aries this is not working…"

"Sakura, we can't give up! Let's try a double attack…" Jasmine recognized Sakura's voice and quickly looked for a way to unlock the secret passage

"Hey Sakura! Are you in there?" Jasmine called loudly. Sakura's face lit up. "Hang on I am going to come in and help!"

"Go join the others! Aries and I are about to break through!" Sakura called back as the roof collapsed. Jasmine understood and ran back down, only to see Oliver and Sylva defeating Galvantula. All of the resistance members were released from their cells and they quickly joined the battle outside. Crystal's team was nearly defeated and exhausted; the new fresh pokemon came in and helped them recover.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Aries burst open a hole and climbed onto the roof. There were some flying pokemon slowly gathering around them.

"It's too dangerous to stay up here, let's move." Aries said and they both nimbly ran on the roof. The flying pokemon are trying to grab them and so swooping in. Sakura barely dodge a couple while Aries have very narrow misses. Aries was thinking about jumping off and use magic at the last second but she saw Sakura still have the shackles on. _So much for that plan._

"Aries, you have to jump or you will be captured along with me." Sakura called out as they reached the end of roof and they are surrounded. Aries bit her lip and then whacked Sakura's shackles to pieces then they both jumped. However, the flying pokemon caught them both and then fly up high.

"I knew it was going to end this way…" Aries said to Sakura as they are carried high up. Most of the Raiders are defeated; Spring Town is now released from the dictatorship of the Raiders. Crystal noticed Flyers up above holding Sakura and a Snivy.

"Oh no… what is that…" Crystal looked skyward and now worried. A Hydreigon and a Volcarona flew together with a flock of rufflets.

"You may have won Spring Town back, but your two friends here will pay the price for your victory." Hydreigon announced loudly, Sakura was still struggling against the Rufflet's grip but it was impossible as she was suspended; similar for Aries.

"No!" Crystal said but Arthur was quicker, he used his Extreme Speed to get into the air. He knocked down a few Rufflets but since he can't fly, He fell back down; Sakura and Aries's captors were hit and now the three of them are falling. But very easily, they all are caught again.

"Arthur, you silly! Why did you do that?" Sakura yelled at Arthur.

"I swore to protect you and that's what I am doing now." Arthur said as he was caught up in the same mess. "I am not going to leave you alone if I can help it." Despite being in such a terrible ordeal, Arthur was still trying his hardest but it was not at the best time as Sakura was more worried being separated again than being with Arthur. The flyer left practically without a fight. So despite such an early success with their mission, they lost two of their friends and the Rescuers lost someone fairly important. Aries was indeed the actual leader of the resistance and hence should be in charge of Spring Town once it's taken over.

"Aries was my sister and she is the only one who has the experience and interest in being the leader of Spring Town." Sylva said with great pity. "If you are going after them, please help me bring back Aries. She is still rather young."

"Don't worry; we will bring her back… Do you have a map that we can take with us so that we would not get lost?" Crystal asked. The rescuers gave them their map which now shows all the new towns.

"Those flyers were heading North to Silver Cove." Sylva explained to them, pointing towards the northern path. Crystal was curious and asked why the rescuers disappeared. Sylva was unwilling to say what happened but nonetheless, choose to enlighten them on what happened.

_Several months ago, the Explorers and the Rescuers pretty much worked hand in hand to provide help to pokemon. The Raiders came and they attacked the Rescuers headquarters as their first target as they felt the Rescuers were the hugest threat to them. The Rescuer's headquarters fell easily and the raiders started to take over towns easily and capturing any rescuers they would find. The raiders held down the Rescuers while using their techniques to force pokemon to join them. Some of the Rescuers managed to evade capture but those who were are held captive._

Team Sapphire set off northwards towards the mountain where Silver Cove was rumored to be at. Little did they know at the peak of Mountain Silver; something sinister was brewing. The young pokemon were separated and most of the attention went to Sakura. Sakura was forcefully taken in front of a strange orb and then it activated and she lost consciousness instantly as if her soul was spirited away to a location unknown.


	11. Chapter 11

Sakura felt like she was drifting slowly through nothingness. Her soul departed her body and into the strange orb that was held in front of her. The world around her now defies logic; huge boulders that floated freely about the endless void and mysterious fog clouding the surroundings. Sakura then looked down at herself; she wore something strange: she now wears an elegant robe made from silk and she also bore bracelets that look like they are mainly used for rituals. She stood on an island floating on the dark void and the place was responding to her presence.

"What's this place… it's completely lifeless and horrible, why am I here?" Sakura whispered to herself as she looked over to the endless void. Before she knew it, something appeared in front of her. A deep cloud of dark mist crowded around an area and a shapeless life-form appeared. This life-form was neither solid nor liquid but made up of gases unknown. "What are you?"

"I am one of the summoned apparitions of the legendary master of Magic," the ghost said with a voice that sounds like wind blowing. "You are Sakura, are you not?" Sakura was slightly taken back that the master took it upon himself to know her name but still suspicious.

"I am Sakura, but why would the master bother to learn the name of an amateur such as myself." Sakura asked carefully, the being simply ignored her as if it was some kind of recording. "Are you a recording or something?"

"Alas I am not what you said but since you used the Orb of Trials, you are now required to take the Orb teleportation trial. Pass and you will be rewarded with newer powers and more energy but fail and you will lose all of your magical energies." The being continued and Sakura suddenly got a hold of what is going on: she is taking her exam that Crystal had warned her not to unless she is truly ready. "Now teleport over to the mainland, your true test awaits your presence." The being then totally disappeared into thin air as a semi-visible path of floating stones moved into the position. Sakura had barely practiced the Orb Teleportation at all so she is at a huge disadvantage.

"Even though I am at a disadvantage, I can trust my heart to lead my way." Sakura muttered to herself and she summoned an orb in front of her. Sakura then sprinted forward and the orb fused with her movement, granting her a sudden burst of speed that obeyed her thoughts that her actions. She seemingly teleported to the next boulder; she continued onwards using the same technique until she reached the mainland as the being instructed her. "Well that was not so difficult…" Sakura was about to count her blessings when suddenly the being reappeared in front of her.

"Welcome to the island of fire. Now you will face your true foe in the Orb teleportation. Meet Quilava, defeat him to pass your test. Don't worry these pokemon are merely magical incantations." The being said then flew off to the side and hovered there. Sakura looked at the Quilava, he observed her for a prolonged time before making a move. He breathed huge fireballs at Sakura who uses her training with teleportation to dodge them. "Remember you have to defeat your opponent to succeed; just dodging does not work." Sakura got momentarily distracted and she paid the price: get hit with a fireball. Her new cloak got burned slightly to smithereens and she was nearly blown off the edge. The falling of pebbles just reminded her that she cannot fall down into the abyss or she will surely fail.

"This is bad, how can I win like this… wait a minute, I got an idea," Sakura muttered quickly under her breathe and she quickly waited for another fireball that her opponent seems unwillingly to fire at her. "Why did you stop?" Sakura taunted, hoping he would get angry and attack. However, instead of a fireball, Quilava charged full speed at her. Sakura quickly dodge to the side and Quilava stopped and turn continued his barrage of fire. Sakura was waiting for that time: she quickly threw out her wind orbs and instead of teleporting herself, she teleported the fireballs back at Quilava. He dodged his own attacks then decided not to use his barrage move but charging. Sakura then got a better idea, she waited for the charge. When he charged, he ran right into Sakura's wind orb that has been summoned to teleport. Sakura then teleported him off the edge of the land and into the void below. Sakura panted as she sat down in exhaustion.

"Impressive, you might be one of our most promising mystics yet: all the others used their own physical moves like you saw to win but you stuck true to the rules." The ghost praised. "Oh yeah, that Quilava was actually a real pokemon. In fact all of your tests are against real pokemon who have the same goal to become the best." Sakura was horrified that she had been a fellow mystic and now he would lose his powers. "Their power will be absorbed by you in order for you to become stronger. I will be awaiting the time you and I meet personally." The being disappeared as Sakura cried to herself; apologizing repeatedly to thin air as she slowly drifted off from the world and out of the orb. Her spirit returned to her own vessel which was still being held by the Raiders.

Sakura stirred slightly as she was held tight by her front paws. She opened her eyes to see that Arthur and Aries are also in a bind. Arthur was forced into shackles and a collar similar to what they are doing to Sakura. Arties was also locked in shackles and is closely watched by tough pokemon. All three of them are now helpless and have to do what the Raiders say. Sakura felt the surge of power from defeating the orb and it felt intoxicating. As they are all placed into the a crude cell temporally while the Raider Flyers rest up, Sakura was thinking about the trial that she had just finished,

"Are you alright? What did they do to you when they held onto you?" Aries asked, Sakura was clearly shocked but strangely satisfied. Sakura felt that it was best to talk it with Aries; the power was overwhelming and it might be corrupting her.

"They forced me to take the mystic test and I was lucky to pass it…" Sakura whispered to Aries, she was pleasantly surprised about what the Raiders did. "I had to beat another mystic just to succeed." Aries then turned pale and was inspecting her top to bottom.

"That's was unheard of… when I took my first one, I did not have to defeat any pokemon, I stopped at the penultimate trial because the power was too much." Aries explained and Sakura was confused: it was true that the rules are ever-changing but this was too sudden and now it seems suspicious. "There is something that the master told me and any others that reached my level… If we are not the one he chosen, the one in the million, we will fail the next trial without a doubt." Aries was also now as powered up as she can get without losing her powers but strangely she doubts that the Raiders will let her keep it for long. "Sakura, you need to try and resist them making you take the trials. Something just does not seem right."

The last sun says had slowly begun to disappear from the sky, Sakura had fallen asleep because she was tired out from taking the test. Arthur and Aries both looked at each and was thinking of a plan to escape. Even with the dragon scale nearby, Aries was able to do a thought link with Arthur so they can talk without making a sound.

"_So do you have any good ideas? I can see you have tons of ideas." Aries thought to Arthur, keeping the eye contact._

"_Depending on how we are going to be transported, I got some ideas." Arthur thought back, Aries browse through the ideas as if they are handed to her in a folder. Each one ranges from digging their way to safely or using whatever moves they can to escape. Although their movements are restricted, they are able to use special moves but their accuracy would be very bad. "Not bad ideas right?"_

"_No offense but they are terrible…" Aries thought back after a while. "And what is this thing floating in your thoughts; something about Sakura?" Arthur was shocked that he moved unexpected and tried to cover Aries's mouth as if she spoke something bad._

The connection stopped as they glared at each other. Sakura rolled over to her sides, completely clueless of what has been discussed. But when she moved, Arthur and Aries were frozen and hoped that she did not overheard. They waited until Sakura was sound asleep before talking at all.

"So spill it, what was that about Sakura?" Aries demanded; Arthur did not want to drag Aries into his web of lies: he was trying to fix everything. "Or do you want me to spill it for Sakura?" The threat was alarming, Arthur uneasily told her everything that happened but left out the part of them being very close once.

While the three of them spent their cruel night at the peak of Mt Silver, Team Sapphire's remaining members went north to a Town called Silver Cove. Silver Cover is a town that is formed under the base of Mt Silver and it extends all the way into the caverns of the mountain and to a river called the Vein of Souls. The tendency of naming rivers was that it must be related to death in any way. Despite it being dark, they are still pressing onward. Jasmine and Oliver fell asleep and they are riding on Mat and Crystal's back; Jake was restless and continued walking. The darkness now engulfed the plains that they are walking on; it turned into a fantastic place for star-gazing but they should not stop as their friends are in trouble.

"Isn't Silver Cove another town that the Raiders have control?" Jake finally spoke, Crystal and Mat thought for a bit before replying

"According the Sylva, the Rescuers stationed there had everything under control. The Raiders should be nearly defeated by the time we get there." Crystal told Jake. "I saw those Flying Pokemon, they are on the peak of the mountain. I think…" Crystal dropped of Jasmine on Mat's back and passed her own bag to him as well. "I am going to be quick about this. Meet me in Silver Cove when you get there." They then only got to feel the wind of powerful movement. Crystal had used her Elemental specialty of wind to propel herself quickly using Orb Teleportation. Mat and Jake recovered from the shock then quickly followed after her; Jasmine and Oliver both still sound asleep.

"What is she planning to do anyways?" Jake asked as they ran.

"She will come up with something! She always does…" Mat reassumed him. "At least I hope she does…"


	12. Chapter 12

Something was strange within Sakura's mind. Her memories were recovering but darkness was slipping in. Sakura descended into her mind once more, she floated around hearing voices and now there were shapes moving in the distance.

_Who… are you? Do you know me? Please answer me! I shouted to the void before me. They were familiar and I knew them before too but what happened… I want to know… to remember them all. "I love you?" did really say that before to someone? Then I should be blissful but now why do I feel like crying to myself… I just don't remember. Some Pokemon I am, forgetting someone so special, how he can ever forgive me… Wait, there are more voices? They also sound so heart-felt and so sad… What is going on? Why am I crying?_

Sakura was trashing slightly in her sleep, muttered things that made completely no sense and then something about a promise stringed out of her mouth. The promise that Arthur and her both made a long time back when they are separated from everyone. They secretly made the promise that they will always be together and to protect each other… Something similar to what Arthur had promised to do. Since Sakura was still unclear about what is going on within the confines of her mind, she did not notice the similarity. A tear-drop ran down her cheeks and managed to splash onto the floor; leaving a clear, transparent vein of water and her reddened eyes. Something flashing into Sakura, forcing her awake: it was the morning sun.

Sakura rubbed her eyes, trying to recover from the first light that glared into her sensitive eyes; she got up and looked beyond the cell. The Flyers are all asleep and someone was sneaking past all of them and approaching the cell. Sakura could not tell who it was as the pokemon was wearing a robe and it concealed her face; Sakura can sense that the mysterious pokemon was a mystic like her and Aries. Arthur and Aries finally fell asleep and were still sleeping.

"Sakura! It's me: Crystal!" Crystal whispered to Sakura. "Sit tight, I will get you three out." Crystal used her more advanced learning of her moves to conjure up a small frigid blast of air onto the metal bars. Following closely with an Iron tail, the metal shattered with a huge noise. Crystal then released everyone from the shackles before turning her attention to the Raiders. Sakura saw her bag along with her friends' belongings hanging by the wall. Sakura dashed across and managed to grab a hold of them. Crystal was fusing her Magic into her normal ice moves, charging them up into something very powerful. Sakura managed to dragged all three bags to Arthur and Aries who woke up.

"Thanks Sakura … where is the cannon?" Arthur asked sleepily. Sakura, even though just barely smaller than Arthur, tossed him onto her back and then Aries and her made a break for it. Aries kept an eye on any Flyers that would try and catch them. Crystal was showing the Raiders that she was someone that they should not have messed with: she froze, smashed and slammed a lot of them around.

"Come on! Let's go!" Aries urged Sakura. But Sakura was not willing to leave Crystal alone to fight all of the Raiders: she was seriously out-numbered. "She can handle herself." Aries then pulled Sakura along.

Crystal stood surrounded by the flyers. She had finished what she had intended to do and there was no way she can beat all of the pokemon. She was still coated with her enchantments and there was no way to escape anymore: if she leapt off the mountain, she would be caught; the exit was now covered. _If I am going down right here, I am not going to let them do it so easily._

The events on the peak were now clouded in mystery as Sakura and her new friends through the caverns. The peak was blocked off by rocks fell after an attack stuck the ceiling. Sakura, Arthur and Aries wandered in the dark for a short while.

"Do any of you have something that can provide light?" Sakura asked after she bumped into something for the umpteen times. "This is getting too troublesome."

"Why use an item? When you can do this…" Aries said and an orb of light appears around her. "Magic is not just a useless thing…" The dazzling light casts shadows behind every rock. With their sight granted back to them, they took stock of what they had. They split an Oran Berry between themselves and took a break. Descending Mt Silver was not a small fete; there are a lot of environment hazards.

Back down at the base of the mountain, Mat and the rest of team came into Silver Cove and the atmosphere was much friendlier when they arrived. Raiders had been chased away or locked up by the Rescuers; they seized the chance that most of the Raiders are moved out to somewhere. Team Sapphire met with the Rescuers stationed there.

"Glad you all came, thanks to your ruckus at Spring Town."

"It was nothing; did an Explorer pass through here recently?" Mat asked instantly. The Rescuers thought hard and replied only a Glaceon passed by wearing a cloak. As they about to try and hike up the mountain in broad daylight, the rest of the team came down. "Sakura! Aries! Are you two alright?"

They are finally reunited after their separation in Wind Trail. Sakura and Aries got their respective badges back. When Sakura caught a glimpse of the Rescuer badge, it was a two-star silver rank. Sakura's badge was a mere bronze as she had not done too much exploring. Mat suddenly looks at everyone then asked a question.

"Where is Crystal?" That question sent chills down everyone's spines. "Wasn't… she with you three? What happened?" Sakura swallowed hard and slow. Crystal had been left on her own, to fight all of the flying pokemon and was vastly out-numbered. Mat assumed the best and smiled and even suggests that they go up and look for her. That would have been fine… but something flew off the cliff and just landed on Sakura's head: Crystal's cloak. Sakura took off the cloak; it was in rather bad condition.

"Sakura… please tell me that is not Crystal's…" Mat spoke gently; trying to think on the positive that Crystal was alright. Sakura took the cloth off her head and lightly folded it neatly; her eyes shut and passed it to Mat.

"Sorry…" Sakura uttered out. The hammer finally stuck hard on Mat and he broke down. Sakura did not look any of her friends even once since they encountered Mat. _It's my fault…_

"**It's your fault!"** Mat exploded at Sakura; throwing the cloak to the side and tackling Sakura instead. Sakura's badge flew and landed a few paces away while she slid on the floor. Sakura had water flowing out of eyes like a waterfall. **"If it wasn't to protect you, Crystal would have been fine! Why can't you have stuck to your pretty little home and left the real work to us!"** Sakura ran off due south, leaving Silver Cove behind her as well as her badge.

"Mat! How could you say that to Sakura? You can't blame it all on her!" Jasmine argued with Mat, she was also clearly upset over Crystal. "I know you and Crystal had been a couple since a few months ago but that is not a reason to throw your unhappiness at Sakura!" Mat was too angry to take it all in and decide to walk off somewhere.

"I need some time alone…" Mat said, holding back his anger as much as he could. Now it's left with the Junior Team Sapphire, their exploration team suffered a great loss and now disunited. They agreed to find Sakura first; Mat would eventually come around after he had cool off the steam.

"I will go alone; I can understand her current feelings right now." Arthur told the rest. They have no contradiction so Arthur quickly followed in Sakura's path while the rest waited for Mat.

Sakura had re-entered Wind Trail and then came across the place that she got washed up on. She sat there and stared at the water. Sakura then threw her own orb into the water; sending a light shockwave. Water was a true element. It can never lie to anyone: it reflects back the true colors of the pokemon and what lies within their hearts. Sakura stared long and hard at her own reflection. _I cannot even believe who I am anymore… This pokemon… is it truly myself? _Sakura then saw her reflection changed color, her fur turned as black as charcoal; her eyes turned into a sinister red and her cream fur became gray. She was a complete different pokemon from her reflection.

"Sakura?" someone called from behind; when Sakura turned behind to look, her reflection disappeared. Arthur approached carefully, seeing the red and swollen eyes. He sat down beside her and let Sakura just cry it out. "Just let it all come out…" Sakura's body then leaned forward until her head was resting on her front paws and her face was concealed. "I understand how you feel right now… Long ago, I had a friend and she was the best pokemon I could ever ask for. She was kind, gentle and was like a sister to me. I remember the time she confessed to me… I could not even say a thing to her as she was gone right after she said it. I felt very guilty and wished that I would vanish on that spot. It was painful but at least, I know a heart and to try and make things right."

"So did you do it?" Sakura asked through her sobs. Arthur then realized that he nearly let the cat out of the bag. Arthur then said that he was trying his best and just hopes that his lucky pokemon would understand and forgive him. Sakura never saw the sensitive side of Arthur before; she liked it. "Whoever she is; she is one lucky pokemon to have you love her so much that you are willing to do anything."

Arthur smiled and so did Sakura. They slowly cheered up after their chat and then Sakura felt her heart race, like it had not done in a long time. The friend that she thought that was a player was now one of pokemon that understood her the most. Sakura then leaned her head softly on Arthur's shoulder; she can now hear his heart beat pounding rapidly and feel his warm fur. Arthur had not felt so happy in a long time; they sat there until the tears dried up. Sakura then slowly got up and continued to walk.

"Where are you going?" Arthur asked plainly, seeing that Sakura was heading in the other direction. "Aren't you coming with us?" Sakura stopped in her tracks and then took a deep breath and exhaled it.

"If Mat…" Sakura started and that was all Arthur needed to know. Without a wasting a second, while Sakura's back was turned, he knocked her out with a square hit at the back of the head. Arthur had never knocked Sakura out cold before but he knew that she would just walk away. After lifting Sakura onto his back, he started to proceed back to Sliver Cove. However something then zipped out of the bushes and tackled Arthur. Arthur then fell and Sakura was flung upwards before landing painfully. This mysterious pokemon then used a Orb on Sakura before quickly departing. Arthur who got up was about to retaliate but the strange pokemon vanished without a trace.

"Who was that? A Raider?" Arthur asked himself, he then went and pick up Sakura. "Wait… why does Sakura feel so cold?" Arthur commented as he was about to carry Sakura. Unknown to him, Sakura's soul once again departs from her body; leaving behind an empty shell. Arthur failed to notice and just brought the empty body back to Silver Cove.


	13. Chapter 13

Sakura stood in a strange forest: there was no sunlight; there were only purple and black as the primary colors they see; the place seems familiar to her. It was very similar to the time she took her Orb Teleportation Trial but the location was different; except the fact that she wore only her fur with her original accessories. She looked around for the same vaporous form that guided her last time. The fact that she will be facing other mystics still worried Sakura but she did not have much time to dwell on the thoughts.

"Welcome to the next trial; the advanced orb usage. Your performance last trial was spectacular; you mastered the teleportation without a hint of training." The form commented happily. "But you are still a long way from getting the legendary powers." Sakura listened to the form carefully, believing that there was a hint about what is to come. "Advanced Orb Usage will be your final Trial for Orb Magic; the last three will be about vortexes. I am actually very curious about you… you seem untainted by the power you received at the first trial. Now let's see how well you learned…" Sakura was about to teleport forward to begin but the master stopped her.

"Is there something wrong? Teleportation is a kind of Orb Magic." Sakura asked curiously.

"True but there is a rule you haven't been informed about…" the master said clearly. "You are only allowed to use advanced forms only; anything basic will result in a penalty. Your Objective is to reach that mountain; no time limit…" Sakura was a little skeptical of it being an easy trial. Advanced uses include very complex mixtures and formulae of Orbs to weave a kind of powerful magic. The shear amount of power needed to achieve it can be overwhelming and it has a nasty backfire effect if it fails to work. Being a complete novice who got lucky the first trial, Sakura is going to have to face one of the toughest trials yet. The master had vanished already; she slowly ventured forth. There was a still contrast between light and dark thus needing no light to see through the shadows. Sakura wants to conserve whatever she could first: if she encountered any pokemon who threatens her, she would be prepared.

She had walked for a few minutes and soon heard movement; she had her Water and Wind Orbs out and it orbiting her. She quickly combined one of each element and it became an ice spear. The attack flew into the bushes and flushed out some strange beings. The master chose to appear once again and time frozen around Sakura.

"Those are called Desire; they were mystics before but their greed for power turned them into these monsters… you don't need to concern for their safety as they cannot feel anything…" the master said before he laughed sinisterly and left. Time resumed and Sakura found herself surrounded. The Desires are all uniformly black in color and they resemble the pokemon that they transformed from. Sakura noticed a symbol imprinted on their body, it looks suspiciously similar to the Raiders' symbol. Sakura considered her options carefully in this situation; she can either run or fight. The Desires surrounding her had not tried any range attack so Sakura assumed they could only execute physical moves. She merged her Water and Wind elements together once again and they formed animated elementals. They attacked the Desires with something vaguely like an Icy Wind attack. Sakura took the chance to evade; letting her summoned friends do the work.

_I doubt those can hold those Desires for long, I better look for the route to the end point. _Sakura looked around for a path to ascend the mountain, but there were none. _So much for that idea… _ Before she can fuse another combination of Wind and Water, something whizzed past her face. She looked up to see a Mystic with Earth Orbs; a Machoke. She barely avoided various chunks of earth thrown at her. She quickly raised an Icicle barrier around her so that she can think. She found the mystic that she had to face; given the fact that it's an earth specialized mystic, she is at a disadvantage.

Mystics have their own specialization in any element, it grants them the ability to master it faster than normal and it can allow them to do more advanced magic. Fusing any two elements can form even advanced elements that can do more things. Currently there are only four major elements; Fire, Water, Earth and Wind. Fire and Water are opposites related of Wind and Earth. Sakura quickly charge up a synthesis from her two elements; she amazingly is able to launch an Ice Globe attack

The Machoke punched the ground and he was shielded on all sides with rock slates. However it obstructed any vision, allowing Sakura to slip away again. She found a scheduled spot to catch her breath. She encountered a lot of opponents and she had to fight for her life. She peeped over the bushes; her opponent was maintaining his high-ground advantage and the Desires are starting stalk into the view. _Wait… are the Desires friend or foe against that mystic? _ _If he gets distracted by them, I can simply avoid all that battling. _Sakura actually was hurt slightly during her engagement with the other mystic and healing is going to change her Ice element into Nature element by replacing the Wind with Earth. Sakura loved to be a little more aggressive with the Ice element but the Nature element strains her into being passive. She replaced her wind with earth and then used a tranquility spell to soothe her wound. She looked over the bushes and the mystic opponent was busy with the Desires trying to get to him. Sakura seized the chance to run to the side of the mountain.

"You are not bypassing me that easily!" someone yelled and Sakura felt herself being pushed back by the very ground she stood on. The machoke was a serious mystic that wrecked the Desires; the desires simply disappeared in a puff of dark smoke after being defeated. "Now stand and fight!" Sakura made use of her Nature element to bind Machoke to the ground using vines before quickly created a make-shift spiral path upwards. Half-way up, the side of mountain started to shoot out parts of the walls. Sakura slowly reached the top but only after getting hit on a few occasions; the machoke followed right behind her.

Sakura was cringing with the pain she endured; the goal was not very far away from her reach. But Machoke came up in time to block the way; Sakura barely managed to heal up herself but her strength was not going to last. There was a portal on the other side of the stone wall behind her; Sakura just has to get into the portal to succeed but she was weakened a lot by the desires and machoke, she was barely standing against the mystic.

"Now I will fulfill the task by taking your power!" Machoke announced as he charged up more earth orbs. Sakura then heard someone.

"Penalty issued now…" Machoke then suddenly got shocked by mysterious electricity. Sakura knew that there was a penalty for using basic magic but apparently Machoke did not. Sakura then felt some of her strength return to her; the situation changed almost at once. Sakura added Fire into her Nature element and she managed to create a new element: Life. She unleashed it into the ground and grass grew everywhere. Life was a tough element to control; Sakura soon realized that when her grass just died off. Machoke was laughing away at the backfire.

"If you can't control an element, how can you beat me with it?" he mocked as he quickly used more earth magic and that also resulted in penalty. Sakura tried again and managed to ensnare Machoke in vines. Sakura ran towards the portal while Machoke was still struggling. She made roots come out of the ground and from a bridge to the top of the wall. Machoke freed himself at the last second but Sakura had leapt through the portal. The dark shadows suddenly became larger and engulf everything. Sakura returned back to her own body which had now reached Silver Cove.

"Arthur! Must you do that to anyone who does not want to follow you?" Jasmine scolded Arthur. Sakura stirred slowly and her eyes opened… she could barely make out the shapes in front of her. She felt the surge of power flowing into her and another Orb formed inside her bag. "Sakura is waking up now…" Sakura stood up and looked at her team mates.

"Guys… If Mat cannot bring himself to trust me, I am no better than being back at the castle." Sakura said; Crystal was like family to Sakura, losing her hit Sakura rather hard. "Look I might as well head home…" Sakura turned away from everyone and refused to meet anyone's eye. Oliver and Jake had gone to find Mat while it's up to the rest to keep Sakura from feeling down. Mat had run to the top of Mt Silver, in attempt find the truth behind his girlfriend's disappearance. He cleared the rocks blocking the way to the peak. He went into the scene and there was nothing left behind but rubble. There was nothing much for Mat to inspect; he had to accept the fact that Crystal is gone. He sat down and thought long and hard; he should not have yelled at Sakura when it was not her fault in the first place. Crystal had known the risk involved by taking part of this mission to explore the eastern part of the continent. Mat slowly went down after looking at the empty summit. If Mat wanted to take his rage out at anyone, it should be at the Raiders. Mat bumped into Oliver and Jake on his way down.

"Mat! Come with us now! If not, Sakura will leave for home." Oliver yelled out loud, Mat turned pale and went with his team members immediately. Sakura was waiting around for Mat; she had taken out her photo album and flipped it to a page where it contains pictures of Crystal and Frosty when they visited her last time. She was a photographer ever since she picked up her first camera; pictures were like memories to Sakura, memories that she could not erase no matter what happens. She then flipped over and saw some more photographs with Mat and Crystal together.

"They are such a lovely couple…" Sakura muttered to herself, tears had already flowed. "What kind of monster am I…?" Other than a few more pictures of Sun-grove and Lavinder Town, the album was completely blank. She took out her camera and shot a few more pictures of her team-mates; just in case it's the last time she would ever see them again. _If it's really goodbye, I would never forget them and I have no regrets ever meeting them. _

"That's a nice picture you had taken of me and Crystal…" someone spoke from Sakura's back. "Sure that she would have loved it. " Sakura spun her head around: it was Mat, along with Oliver and Jake. "Sakura… I am sorry. I should not have scolded you; I overreacted. If I want to blame anyone, it would be the Raiders." Sakura's face turned to a smile as they shared a hug.

Arthur silently took the camera and took the picture of that moment. _Sakura, the past is the past and what has been done, cannot be undone. This is your new life and it comes with different experiences; which bring about new memories and I would help you by taking the pictures of the times that are the most precious to you._ Sakura noticed that Arthur took a picture and went to check whether it turned out well. It was a photogenic moment_._

"Thanks Arthur for taking that picture." Sakura said as she placed it into her album as well. "Hey everyone come here!" Sakura wanted to take a group photo just to lighten up spirits and afterwards, they all stayed at the Rescuers' houses for the night. Aries, Jasmine and Sakura went into one room while Mat, Arthur, Oliver and Jake went into another.

Sakura failed to notice that she had overcome the temptation of power. She also did not mention anything about her trial to her friends. She was reaching a new level: vortexes; she had some practice with them but never truly understood what they could do. Something was still bothering Sakura; she could not stop thinking about the pokemon she had said 'I love you' to. She could not remember who he was… _Strangely yet I feel that he was always close to me. Who knows he might be someone I already knew._


	14. Chapter 14

After staying over-night in Silver Cove town, Team Sapphire with their temporary addition: Aries checked their maps. The next town that was needed help was Coral Town; it is situated to the east of Silver Cover and down-stream from the Vein of Souls. They originally wanted to go back to Spring Town and drop off Aries back with her sister, Sylva but Aries wanted to travel around with them so they abandoned that plan and intend to travel by boat to Coral Town. The rescuers stationed in Silver Cove had kindly offered Team Sapphire to transport them secretly.

Coral Town was a paradise for Water pokemon and was a famous location for tourists. It was well known for its 'treasures of the sea' goods and spectacular water show. It was also the owner of a port that was well-known for sailors as it was positioned well on the map for vessels to stop for a break. It was a rich town and was in the beginning stages of modernization. That however, poses a problem for Team Sapphire as their rag-tag team would stand out like a sore thumb as all the pokemon in Coral Town wore rich clothing.

"Coral Town was taken over only recently. According to my friends there, the Raiders made it compulsory to wear rich clothing. Anyone who could not would be arrested." Aries explained as they looked at the map. "So we are most likely to stand out looking like this… well only Sakura and I might evade attention." Aries and Sakura could form an illusion that they were wearing the appropriate clothing but the rest could be a problem. Aries was referring to something else: both Sakura and she wore a magical item. Sakura's ear wrap does more than just transform into a crown and back. It allows Sakura to change her clothing at will. Aries wore a bracelet that only now was noticed. It was similar in function as well. Sakura did not know about that function so she was clueless when Aries mentioned her.

"If Sakura and I can get in touch with my friends, we can smuggle some clothes for everyone." Aries suggested after a debate. Mat was a little skeptical that Aries could protect Sakura if they got discovered but he refused to say anything. The wooden vessel was floating around, awaiting its cargo; Aries talked with her fellow rescuers while everyone walked across the wood plank connecting the boat and the dock. The smell of salt-water and fish filled the interior of the ship; the wood boards were damp and mossy. Everyone sat down somewhere and was anticipating the imminent ride. Aries soon joined everyone else and the boat started to glide across the water's surface. Sakura took out her camera and took pictures of the view; Arthur watched her with his tails going berserk and his face turning as red as a tomato. He slowly got up and approached her.

"Hey Sakura… do you want me to take your picture?" Arthur asked, his heartbeat suddenly rising rapidly as he made his request. Sakura stared at him with her violet eyes and a smile on her face. She silently passed her camera over. Arthur had expected her to pose like everyone normally does but instead she looked back at him as if nothing was unorthodox. Arthur, regardless, found her what-you-see-is-what-you-get attitude very adorable. The picture that he took whilst on a boat that was shaking unexpectedly turned out rather well. Sakura sat back down and gave a big sigh; Arthur took the chance to sit beside her. "Care to share the load?"

"It's nothing… I am just worried," Sakura muttered out. "If the Raiders' target is Aries and I, wouldn't that put all of you in danger?" Crystal usually had the personal talks with Sakura but now with Crystal gone, Arthur had taken her position. Arthur ranked his head, trying to find a suitable response. Sakura could see that he was struggling to help her so she looked away. The two Eevees remained silent as they all approached the location. Aries called Sakura and they both tried to change into their outfits; Aries gave Sakura a list of instructions and complex hints that was a magic jargon.

Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated on an imaginary image of a high-class dress. Her eye wrap shone light a fire; the dazzling light eventually spread onto Sakura's body. In the moment that the light blinded vision, some strange smoke came out and formed the outline of the dress. As the light fade, it materialized and Sakura was dressed in a pink fluffy dress with a sun hat. Aries clapped her hands in recognition while Arthur gave her a standing ovation.

"Wow… Sakura, you look…" Arthur stammered, unable to string the words together. Sakura felt her face warming up and hid under the shadow of her large sun hat. A short flash later, Aries also changed into a sunny yellow dress decorated with sunflowers and also a large hat. Aries then looked at herself in disgust. "Aries you too look…"

"Watch your mouth, Arthur. You like Sakura and don't push it. I look horrible I know!" Aries snapped at Arthur, still unable to accept the way she looked. Soon Coral town was in sight and everyone else quickly hid inside a crate. Sakura and Aries had to pretend that they were tourists so they could find Aries's contacts in town. When they dropped anchor at Coral Town, the guards came over immediately and assisted the both of them. Aries grabbed Sakura and proceeded quickly on land.

"Hold it! Where did you both come from?" The guard asked the both of them. Sakura froze while Aries got weighed down by Sakura's sudden brake. "Explain please, ladies." Aries was careful to turn around slowly and discreetly used Attract.

"Oh pardon us, my kind gentlemen. We are just visiting from the Northern region and we came here to stay with my friends." Aries replied in the sweetest voice she could, Sakura could not help but giggle. Aries gave her a secret kick. Sakura yelped in pain. "My friend here is tired that it is painful for her to stand." The guard could not help but become all dumbstruck with the Attract.

"Sure… just give me your names and you are free to go…" The guard said while still having the infatuation. Aries thought quickly before replying.

"My name is… Sunny and my friend here is Orchid." Aries managed to string, noticing the flowers nearby.

"Well thank you, and enjoy your stay." And Aries quickly pulled Sakura away to avoid suspicions. Aries still could hear Sakura laughing softly; she quickly turned around and whispered to her.

"Look I hate being all girly and sweet, it just shows how weak I am so clamp up will you? My friend's house should be around here."

Sakura looked at Aries and indeed she loafed every second she had to wear the dress or speak in the angelic voice of hers. Sakura assumed that something else tragic must had happened to Aries other than losing her friends to the Raiders. They walked along the gravel road past each elegantly designed house until they came across a mansion made with marble.

"This is it… I hope he is home." Aries said as she pressed a strange button connected to a black device on the gate. Sakura watched as Aries engaged in conversation with the strange box; she stuck close to Aries as other pokemon were starting to take notice of their presence. Soon enough, the gate swung open and they went in, avoiding the attention of the crowd is gathering. They met with an Emolga who was Aries's childhood friend and was surprised at what Aries was wearing.

"Oh my goodness, Aries. Finally got over that incident?" the Emolga laughed as she saw the dress. Aries angrily made the dress disappear. "Guess not, so what's new?"

Aries and her friend being to discuss; Sakura took a good look at herself using the window. After a few minutes, Aries and her friend heard something shattering behind them. They turned around only to see Sakura; she was standing of a window that had been broken into smithereens. Sakura was grabbing her head in agony. Aries also felt something causing a headache for her but it seems less extreme than the one Sakura was experiencing.

"Excuse Sakura, Leslie. Something is going on…" Aries told her friend as they quickly got Sakura to relax on the sofa. "Ouch… this headache just gets worse as I approach her." Leslie helped placed a cold pack on Sakura's forehead. Both of them left Sakura to rest up as she fainted after her intense headache. Leslie went out to inform the rest of the Rescuers, leaving Aries to take care of Sakura.

Sakura's headache was a trigger from her power; the remains of the magical spell on her memory started to disappear. She started to recall the events from months ago.

_The rain was bearing down hard on the Sun-Grove castle. Sakura was staring at the scene from the sidelines. She saw herself was running towards her and suddenly she went through her. Sakura recognized that they are in the throne room where her father normally spent his time making laws. Sakura turned around to see she rams into a magical barrier that her father's royal guard put up; she gasped when she saw who was on the other side: her team members. The muffled cries and pleas are barely audible but it does not matter; Sakura forced herself not to listen as it was heart-breaking but she knew whatever they are saying._

"_I…I want to be with you. I… love… y…." Sakura heard herself say and she saw her frail body collapsed to the floor. She saw Arthur crying and he ran over. After a while, after being official given the crown, she saw herself being moved to the sanctuary. She saw how everyone reacted to her memory being wiped away. Sakura gritted her teeth and her paws are shaking. She let out a sob after discovering who that had feelings for was._

The brief trip down memory lane was interrupted when she was rudely woken up. An explosion came and shrapnel came flying past her ears. Sakura got up quickly and nimbly duck behind the sofa; Aries was engaging in close combat using Leaf Blade.

"Lesliee… how could you betray the rescuers for money!" Aries yelled as she got knocked backwards by a direct hit. Leslie glided in front of Aries and gave a hoarse laugh, fitting for an evil queen. "How could you look at yourself in the mirror?"

"With nearly a million poke in my pocket every day; that's how." Leslie responded and then saw Sakura, peeping behind the sofa. "Looks like my client's target is awake… and you, my childhood friend, are my icing on the cake."

"You are just greedy like the raiders are," Aries argued back but then more Raiders burst in and she had to fight them back. Sakura steeled up the courage and came out of her hiding spot and started blast away at the Raiders. It was only a matter of time before they would be overwhelmed by the mass numbers. "Come on Sakura!" They smashed through a window and started to dash towards the dock, hoping their friends were still waiting for them. However when they reached the dock, the boat vanished.

"Those guys must be already out somewhere…" Aries commented to herself then she heard a commotion by the massive clock-tower. Sakura and Aries both got a shock when they reached the town square: Mat, Jake, Arthur, Oliver and Jasmine were incapacitated; in front of them stood a Beartic and Golurk. Aries and Sakura looked at each other; they share the same worried expression. All of the Raiders started to gather and both of them are nearly out of energy.

"Hey… Aries… should we pull out the…" Sakura panted, Aries shook her head despite the situation being extremely hard to continue on. "But we are going to…" Before Sakura finished, three petite figures came in and knocked down some of the raiders; they are soon followed by a stream of pokemon from a ship that just docked recently.

"Come on, the Shaymin exploration guild would not stand to see fellow explorers and rescuers get bullied!" someone announced as the Raiders fought the new stream of pokemon; the new pokemon were skilfully trained and handled the battle easily. Sakura and Aries blacked out due to their fatigue and the damage they taken before.


	15. Chapter 15

Sakura's head throbbed as she slowly opened her eyes. One of the major links in her memory was repaired but there were still more that time had not been mended. What happened just now was a blur as well; she started to stretch and her eyes tried to focus on the irregular shapes before her.

"Do you think she is going to be okay?" someone asked, Sakura took note of the higher tone of the voice.

"Of course, we three burst in there just in time to save them." Sakura heard another pokemon speak.

"Yeah thanks for that… now we got punishment to carry out for being rash as usual." A third voice spoke; Sakura blinked a couple of times. Her eyes widened to near the size of dinner plates; she saw a trio of eevees before her. "Our mother isn't going to be happy that we got punished again. She herself was a respectable explorer!" Sakura could only vaguely remember them; she had met them all before but was unable to clearly define. "Oh you're awake!" Sakura took a look around; she was on a boat and had slept on comfortable hay. Beside her was Aries who was still zonked out; Sakura turned her attention to the trio.

"Hello! What's your name? You look familiar!" the smallest of the trio squealed out in excitement. "I am Eve! Our mother was the famous Melody who helped save time from destroying the world!"

_Melody… Melody… that name rings a bell… the heroine who helped stop primal Dialga and restored order to time and space. And was part of saving the world once again by defeating Darkrai. Wait I remember now! These three must be Chloe, Ken and Eve; they are the eevee children of Melody and are roughly the same age as me! Wow!_

"Oh I remember you three now! I stayed over at your house once to hide from the Raiders. I am Sakura, remember?" Sakura tried to jog their memories as well; it had been months since they last met.

"Sakura! It really is you!" Eve replied and gave her a huge hug that nearly caused her to choke. "Mom and Dad said we might bump into you eventually!" Sakura tried to catch hold of her breath before engaging in a chat with them. Sakura soon felt something whack her at the back of her head; it was rather leafy.

"How is someone supposed to get some peace and rest if you make all that noise?" Aries crankily shouted as she slumped back into dreamland. Sakura was a little embarrassed so she followed the trio outside. Eve wore the same treble clef broaches on her ears; Ken had a new headband and Chloe had a red ribbon tied snuggly to her neck. Sakura caught side of their badges; they were still in the normal rank but their badges looks special as it was neither an Explorer Badge nor a Rescuer Badge. Independent Guilds had the right to issue special badges to their members but they were merely add-ons to the normal badges.

"There you three are!" someone called and the Eevee trio flinched and froze on the spot at once. A stern looking Sky- form Shaymin glided down in front of them; he wore a frown on his face and a scarf tied around his neck. "You caused quite a lot of trouble by dashing out like that; what if you three gotten hurt or even captured!" Eve and Chloe looked down in shame but Ken was laughing slightly.

"Sorry Daniel," Chloe replied softly; she also stole a glance at Ken. "It was Ken's idea to rush out." Daniel actually turned his frown upside down and it caught everyone by surprise.

"But in your moment of selflessness, you helped saved Team Sapphire from being completely wiped out. You three are starting to become the explorers that your mother would have wanted you three to be. Well done." Daniel praised. "I am aware that you three have a habit of recklessly dashing off. Please don't be too rash or you might get into trouble as always. Oh there is no punishment; Sakura could you stay in the room under your friends come back from their tour around town? And they asked whether it's okay to borrow your camera then said never mind and took it."

"Okay," Sakura said before proceeding back in the room with Chloe, Ken and Eve; lucky for them Aries was awake and reading a book that she always slashed inside her sack. They started a joyful conversation about anything they could come up with; Aries looked at Sakura and sighed as she could predict why Sakura and she were waiting on the boat.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team was making good use of Sakura's camera; they took photos of places of interest including them in it. Coral Town was fairly large so they spent quite a while looking around; there was a shop that sold clothes; there was also another store that sold exploration equipment. Arthur took a look around the merchandise while the rest of the team was finishing up their tour. The day was spent window shopping and soon they came back to the ship only to see Sakura crying her eyes out and Aries comforting her.

Just shortly before they arrived, Daniel had requested that Aries and Sakura both stay on the ship for their protection. Sakura had argued back, saying that she came for the sense of adventure and excitement that she could never get if she had stayed the castle all day like she did. However Daniel said that it was not only his decision but it was also the Federation's choice; both girls were targeted by the Raiders for their assorted reasons and Daniel was skeptical about Team Sapphire's ability to protect Sakura; given their numerous failures and the loss of one their leaders. Sakura could not accept it and took it rather hard so she was letting her feelings run amok.

"Hello guys, I just informed the both of them but now to enlighten all of you of the federation's decision: Sakura and Aries are going to stay with my guild for protection while you three carry out your mission alongside us." Daniel briefly told them, Arthur was displeased and replied.

"I don't care what does the federation and you have to say about our ability to protect Sakura; this is still mainly Sakura's choice. I demand that we are given a chance to change your minds on the matter." Arthur said; it was a compelling argument. Daniel thought about it for a while and soon snickered then looked at Arthur directly.

"Well I have a way you and your companions can change my mind. My guild annual has a battle tournament held on Whirlpool Island off-shore to Coral Town; so I am suggesting your team enters and if you rein champion, Sakura and Aries would go with you." Daniel challenged and Arthur not wavering under the intensity of the conversation. "Of course, the two ladies would be exempted from participation so your team is going to be smaller but it still qualifies as you need four members."

"Alright Daniel, you are on. I accept your challenge." Arthur replied and they shook their paws to it. "Wait a minute; you are not in the competition are you?" Daniel laughed and just winked slyly at Arthur before departing.

"Oh! This is going to be so exciting! We look forward to battling you guys at the battle tournament!" Eve screamed out before Chloe could cover her mouth and drag her away. Arthur swallowed after realizing that the other teams in the guild were mostly elite pokemon; their team consisted of one elite pokemon: Mat and four junior members. Sakura was in denial, her eyes lost the former life and soul within them; Aries stayed with Sakura, trying to get her to calm down, fearing that she might turn suicidal before Arthur and his team could compete in the Whirlpool Tourney. Even Aries was doubtful that they could win against the elite pokemon that wiped away all the raiders in Coral Town within minutes; the only ones that could stand a chance was both of them using their special powers to even the odds. Now the ones with magic powers were dwindling until the verge of extinction so now it's worthless to hide their powers from the world. Sakura buried her face in the hay and refused to speak to anyone or even eat anything at all; causing only Aries to worry, Arthur and the rest were training themselves somewhere safe on the ship.

"Come on Sakura, if you don't eat, you will starve to death." Aries tried to reason with Sakura as she offered her some pokemon bread with some berries.

"I am not hungry…" Sakura said at first but then her tummy growled in irony. Aries giggled at that and Sakura got up and took the food she was given without complaints. Both of them were kept separated from their team until the competition is over as they were the 'prize' and the guild does not want to risk them running away. "Hey Aries can I share something with you?"

"Sure, you can trust me." Aries replied gently as she could to the already-dramatized Sakura. Sakura started to pour out what she had experienced recently and the memories that she somehow recollected; Aries was leaking some cold sweat as she already knew about what Arthur did back then as he had told her before. "So Arthur was the special sweetheart of yours?"

"Yeah, it seems strange and kind of awkward that it was him: he had been hitting on me since we first met." Sakura said, Aries simply went back to her book and the conversation went dry. Suddenly both of them felt something in air and they leapt to their feet. It was a mysterious sensation yet it was suspicious.

"You felt that too?" Sakura asked Aries nervously as she scanned her surroundings. "Someone is up to something."

"I agree we best be on our guard, we would never know when he will strike." Aries whispered to Sakura; they stayed close to each other just to be safe. "But who could it be? I thought most of them disappeared."

Meanwhile, Arthur and Mat just finished a battle while Oliver and Jake had evasion practice. Arthur had been utterly defeated by Mat's Leaf Blade combo; Oliver failed to dodge Jake's Thunderbolt on numerous occasions. Arthur punched the floor in frustration; his team was not totally prepared to face elite pokemon if they still could not handle basic training.

"Arthur, take a break! You are pushing too hard." Mat advised but Arthur failed to listen as he continued to pummel the training dummies. "If we all master the basics, we will be a lot better than the elites. It's not about all the advanced moves and tricks." They continued their basic training so that they would be in top form. Mat taught them individually on some unique strategies and cues that they had to take note and respond accordingly. When the day started to end, they went back to their cabin to rest up.

"Do you even think we have a chance?" Jasmine asked as they finally took a break. Arthur assured her with a look and then sneakily took out something that he purposely kept with him: a picture of Sakura innocently looking at falling leaves. He asked Crystal to help him to covert the image that he had in his mind to a real photograph so that he could be reminded. Soon he heard a scream from somewhere on the ship; he recognized as Aries's yell and immediately dashed off with his special Extreme Speed. He arrived at the scene to find Aries and Sakura standing by the corner and the guards assigned to keep them safe were attacking them. He quickly blasted the two guards with his Shadow Ball overcharge. The sound attracted attention to the location within seconds; Daniel was one of the first to appear at the scene.

"What happened here?" he demanded forcefully from Arthur who he had pinned to the ground. Aries and Sakura rushed out pull off Daniel.

"It's not his fault or the guards: someone nearby had possessed the guards so that they will attack us, most likely to catch us off-guard in our sleep." Aries tried to explain and to her luck, the guards were recovering from their daze. "Ask them if they remember anything from before. I assure you that they would not remember a single thing." Daniel did as Aries suggested and it was true, the guards failed to retain any memory from being possessed. Arthur took the unorthodox chance to see Sakura; she also seized the moment to give him a hug that she should have given to him from before.

"It was you! The eevee that I loved; I am sorry that I had forgotten about you! Could you ever forgive me?" Sakura cried to Arthur's shoulders; surprising everyone on scene, most shockingly was Arthur. Arthur smiled a heroic smile and whispered into her ear.

"Only if you forgive me first… for all the things I had done." Arthur said under his breath; Sakura could not understand what he meant by if she could forgive him first but it did not matter as fate letting those meet again. However, soon both of them were pried apart by the guards as they were to return back to their room "Don't worry Sakura! I will win tomorrow, I will save you!"

"I know you will! Just be careful!" Sakura called back as they savored every moment their eyes met.


	16. Chapter 16

The dark night came and everyone onboard the Shaymin Guild yacht fell into their typical slumber; Sakura the Eevee could not sleep as she was fantasizing about the moment that she had seen Arthur for a few minutes, how could the moment been more perfect than it already was. _Arthur could have been more charming if he had held onto me tighter… but then I would not be living. Ha… Also he could have struggled harder against that guard to be with me. Oh… but Daniel would have hurt him if he did. Oh my goodness, and the way his fur moved and his sparkling eyes…_

Aries the Snivy who was sleeping just beside her, rolled around trying to find a way to muffle the highly active surge of happiness. Mystics emit a strong sense of power whenever their emotion goes on a rampage; Aries had no choice but to endure it throughout the night.

However, there were two shady pokemon wearing black robes with sliver bindings standing on the deck. They seem to be waiting for each other's response before doing anything; a tense atmosphere surrounds them. The moonlight was not enough to render them recognizable as they had the hood pulled over front. Robes bore different symbol; one of them had the Raiders' winged badge, the other had a strange emblem that looks like a magical rune.

"So you are the master's new apprentice? You never displayed anything of impression…" the Raider said as he finally stirred after a minute of silence. "Regardless, you best keep out of my way as I carry out my plans."

"I had never intended to obstruct your plans: if it emerges as a success, everyone wins and if not… well I would be forced to take her myself." The other said as he moved out to maintain his distance from the other. "Trust me, she is still rather weak right now but when she grows up; she might be a true master as she had already shown that she could do a tidal wave."

"Indeed, I felt it first-hand if you don't remember… So do you think my plan would work?"

"I could see several flaws but if you are careful, you are fine to carry it out safely. But one word of caution, you are supposed to capture her, do not kill her in your rage." That was last word they spoke and they disappeared into the shadows. They both felt the overwhelming feeling of joy being emitted by Sakura's fantasy dreams but it failed to deter them from leaving.

The serene night passed by with nearly everyone getting sweet dreams, partially due to Sakura. The sun followed its routine and rose above the horizon and gave light to the sea as well. A piece of land appeared; it's filled with trees and it has a huge mountain. Arthur and his team members woke up as the first light dawn lit the sky. Arthur merely shook his brown-cream fur clean and then helped everyone to get ready for the day; he got some fresh water from a nearby fountain and watered Jasmine and Mat: grass types liked to be watered slightly to give them a soothing start to any day; Jake starting by psyching himself to generate static energy to warm up his electric sacs in his cheeks; Oliver was also feeling pumped up and his tail flame was burning brightly.

"Well we are all ready for the long day today!" Mat said as he flicked his leaf tail to warm up. "Arthur, you need to conserve some energy for later!" Arthur was wasting a lot of energy to get everyone prepared, it might proof to disadvantageous later on.

"Sorry Mat, but I am so excited!" Arthur replied. "I will try to retain from running around pointlessly." It was typically a rare sight to see Arthur follow instructions at all; it must have been the excitement that changed his attitude. They still have some last minute training so they spent their morning trying to learn something new; Mat and Jasmine were going to work on enhancing their Leaf Blade's strength; Jake was still trying to learn to overcharge moves like Electro Ball; Oliver was also learning overcharge for fire based moves; Arthur had to work on Rest and also double team to make full use of his speed. They fine-tuned their basics as much as they could, under the impression that a mastery of basics is better than having a big arsenal of advanced moves that may fail. Very soon it was time for them to leave.

Whirlpool Island was a group of island off-coast from Coral Town; it was named that way due to the fact that whirlpools are surrounds the islands making it a rough task to gain entry; only experienced drivers can maneuver across. The island was where the Shaymin guild was founded and now it's the site where inter-guild battle tourney is being hosted; at the coliseum. The yacht slowly glided to a halt and it opened its doors to allow everyone to leave. There was still a time limit for last-minute registration so some team went to sign themselves up; Sakura bumped into Chloe and her siblings again at the booth.

"Sakura hello!" Eve called from afar; Sakura gave them a friendly smile and approached them to know what they were up to. "We are just getting our team registered so we can win too!"

"Isn't it a little too much to expect?" Sakura asked; Eve sweat-dropped while giving a timid laugh. "How long have you three been a team?"

"Just recently… hehe…" Eve could not say anything else; her Normal rank Badge gleaming on her cream fur. Her other eevee siblings nudged her slightly: it was her turn to sign up.

"Greetings Sakura, are you signing up as well?" Chloe asked but Sakura just shook her head with a dark look on her face. "Oh I see… well I hope you will cheer for us." Chloe said, trying to change the subject.

"I will! Good luck!" Sakura finished as all three of them left to the waiting area. Sakura quickly rejoined Aries who already walked a significant distance away. Aries had her arms crossed the whole time and was in a terrible mood; Sakura felt that she better not say anything to upset her.

"They sooner those guys rescue us from this situation, the better." Aries muttered, making sure only Sakura heard it clearly. They were led to a viewing platform where they could observe any action. The opening ceremony was about to begin.

The fireworks were fired into the sky and exploding into a brilliant display of razzle-dazzle. Every team had formed up and was marching into the arena. The crowds that had gathered for the event were huge; they came from all over the world to watch the event. It was rather rare that the Exploration Federation allowed these kinds of events at all. Daniel went up to the flag poles where the three flag bearers raised the Explorer Flag; the Rescuer Flag and the Guild Flag. Just before Daniel gave the opening address, there was a commotion at the entrance.

A bad vibe spread across the area like wildfire as an unwelcomed guest came into view: the Raiders. Leading them was Elise the Delcatty and someone else who was covered in robes.

"What are you Raiders doing here? You are not welcomed to this event." Daniel demanded as he did not remember allowing the Raiders to take part. However, Elise was not alarmed at everyone getting ready to attack them. "I am going to ask you to leave before we force you." Elise laughed right into Daniel's words.

"How rude, this is a rare event and you don't even give any recognition to the Raiders. How crude of you," Elise commented, it managed to stir some reaction within the crowd. Daniel saw that he had no choice; either he let the Raiders participate or lose popularity for this whole competition. "Of course since you are being insistent on us leaving…"

"Hold on… you are… allowed to take part…" Daniel swallowed. Sakura particularly was strongly against the decision; she left off the viewing platform and was about to attack Elise. Aries quickly used her vine whip to hold Sakura back; she was struggling real hard to get at least a cut on Elise. "Sakura please control yourself, I don't like as much as you do." Sakura gave one final snarl at Elise before turning away; Aries lifted her back up to the Viewing platform before releasing her. With that problem over and done with, the first rounds were about to start.

The massive water projection screen showed a lot of team names and they are all separated to section A to D. Team Sapphire was located into Section A and they are going up again Team Retro for the first round. They had to watch some matches first before it was their turn; the system of battling was pretty unique: the monitor randomizes some options and displays a mode of battle; currently they are watching a couple of Single and Double Battles. Everyone was determined to rein champion of Whirlpool Island, attaining victory would not be easy. Anticipation was hitting its climax for Sakura as it was their friends turn in a few minutes.

"Alright! We had witnessed some standard battles so far; up next is Team Sapphire versus Team Retro!" the commentator yelled into the microphone. The excitement was infectious as the crowd went crazy as the teams made their way into the arena. "Now let's have the Mode of Battle!" All attention suddenly turned to the screen and everyone waited with bated breath. It was similar to a slot machine but there was only one wheel; soon the words: Single Battle was chosen. "Wow! Another Single battle! Now teams pick your member and send him or her onto the battle ground." Sakura watched as her friends huddled and discussed intensely before switching over to the opposing team whom already chosen a Pikachu onto the arena. Soon Mat took his place on the opposing side. "Wow this is an advantageous battle for Team Sapphire as they sent Mathew the Leafeon against Team Retro's Cherry the Pikachu.

"Hm… it is an interesting choice for sending an electric Pokemon." Aries muttered, Sakura could also sense that something was off. Cherry bowed politely to Mat before the start of the battle, Mat returned the gesture before the commentator started the battle.

"Remember contestants! This is a single battle; no time limit and no restrictions! Let the battle begin!"

Mat had to move swiftly to the left to evade Cherry's first quick attack; Cherry made a tight U-turn before rocketing after Mat and successfully striking him with her head. Mat did not even flinch and Cherry caught a strange twinkle in his eye: Mat was just testing the waters with Cherry. Mat suddenly used Swords Dance and it whacked Cherry that she flew a couple distance away; using the momentum from the Swords Dance, Mat charged his Leaf Blade and dashed after Cherry and slashed Cherry furiously. Cherry took heavy damage from each hit and she managed to recover using Shock Wave to push Mat backwards. Cherry was already on her knees, grasp her sides in pain. To Mat's horror, Cherry was smiling; there was electricity from the air charging Cherry up and then she zipped straight at Mat. Cherry returned all of them damage that Mat dealt to her earlier with her increased speed and electric attacks. Mat, however, had the upper hand still; he directly countered with his Leaf Blade turning the whole battle into a crazy sword fight. Sparks flew everywhere; some stones were flung everywhere. Soon Cherry could not take it any longer and fainted.

"Ouch, doubted that she could have kept it up any longer. This first round goes to Team Sapphire and Team Retro is out of the competition. Mat returned to his team as they packed up.

"What has gotten into that Cherry?" Sakura asked. Aries had pondered over it and figured it out. Like Arthur and Sakura and even herself, Cherry had special traits that granted her unique abilities that only she could pull off. Earlier; it was the effects of a trait called Power Charge: it increases attack and speed after taking quite a bit of damage. Sakura and Aries left the viewing platform to see their friends but before they left, Sakura felt something tucking on her leg and it tripped her up; she turned to see a translucent string wrapped around her. A desire was holding the other end. "What's the big idea?"

"Oh sorry; I am not the only one who controls the Desires," Elise laughed and commanded the Desire to release Sakura. "Looks like the master is getting impatient indeed…"

Aries turned and stared at Elise with mysterious eyes; this was her first encounter with Elise. Sakura growled at Elise; Aries tapped Sakura lightly and they left in silence. Aries was thinking about what Elise said while Sakura was too furious to care: _what could the master want with Sakura?_


	17. Chapter 17

Round one was successfully cleared with a few unexpected twists in it. Mat recovered from the battle relatively quickly as their whole team rested together in a dormitory. Arthur and Sakura were sharing an Oran Juice together with separate straws overlooking the mid-day; Jasmine and Mat were trying to form something new for the next round while Jake and Oliver were warming up with each other. Aries was taking a light snore; round two only starts tomorrow as there were a lot of contestants fighting in the first round; the results of the first day would be projected up on every monitor in town to keep every pokemon up to date. Soon there was a knock on the door.

Sakura got up and answered the door on the behalf of everyone as they need to prepare for the second round; she was then pinned to the ground after someone burst through the door. The familiar stench caught Sakura's attention and she laughed out loud as she was being tickled: it was Eve being extremely playful.

"Hello Eve!" Sakura laughed as she managed to get back on her feet, "What was the tickling for?" Eve's expression took a big swing and she came out with two huge puppy-dog eyes.

"Why didn't you come and cheer us on? I scanned the crowd for you but you were gone…" Eve said, maintaining her face to instill guilt into Sakura. Sakura sweat-dropped as she had left just before it was Chloe's team turn, she was too caught up with Elise to notice at the time and wanted to catch up with her friends. Chloe and Ken were a little taken back due to Eve's unusual behavior; they came as Eve was 'tracking' Sakura down. "And I cheered so hard for you…"

"I am really sorry, Eve. I just forgot…" Sakura tried to say slowly, thinking that Eve was like a 'time bomb' that could go off at any minute. "But I promise I will make it up to you… somehow." Eve then returned to her 'usual' self and cheered happily like a kid getting what he wants for his birthday. Chloe and Ken took the chance to grab a hold of Eve and push her out.

"Sorry about that, she gets dramatic whenever she gets disappointed." Chloe explained as Ken took Eve out of the room. "She was always a little too hyper-active for her own good and… oh my goodness, I gotta go." Chloe cut short the conversation as she realized that Ken and Eve were alone without her looking out for them and keeping them out of trouble; the both of them were sneaking quietly out of the building. "Hey you two stop! Come back here!" Sakura giggled slightly before she closed the door.

"Who was that, it was so noisy?" Aries said with her eyes remaining shut. Sakura told her who it was and she simply gave a 'humph' and went back to sleep. The rest of the team, however, was very interested; whatever information that could lead them to an advantage was vital. Sakura was soon bogged with questions that she did not have an answer.

"I am going for a walk!" Sakura made up an excuse to escape the questioning. The afternoon sun made the ground and air warm and a cold breeze swept across from the ocean. She sat by herself on a bench and sighed; she then noticed the mysterious pokemon that was with the Raiders and Elise. The cloaked pokemon was behaving in a strange manner: she had been pacing in a spot for quite some time. Sakura got off the bench and slowly approached the shadowy figure: she felt some sort of familiar vibe around this pokemon. Her ear wrap was already lighting up like a Christmas tree; the shady pokemon noticed and decided to bail out of there, Sakura gave chase. They ran until they turned into an alley; the pokemon somehow leapt up four stories and landed on the roof, Sakura saw the symbol before he escaped and was confused: it was not a Raider symbol.

Meanwhile, Elise had just won the first round and was just waiting around by the trees; the mysterious pokemon soon showed up. They exchanged glances and a momentary pause.

"What's the word?" Elise asked. The other failed to reply at all; Elise laughed at him. "You couldn't do it, can you…"

"Shut up…" the other said and now the tone of the voice revealed the gender: a girl. "I didn't do it because I did not felt like it."

"Oh I am trembling… so what of the master?" Elise asked seriously and soon this conversation returned on track.

Next day soon dawned and the first round results were already broadcasted: Team Sapphire, along with quite a few teams, had survived the first round of elimination; Team Sapphire was going to battle Team Nature as the first match of the day. Sakura and Aries were allowed to stand by their team but, however, unable to take part. The usual proceedings followed through and now the method was being selected once again. As the words circled about on the screen, both teams were anticipating any result.

"Wow, looks like we are starting the day with a Double Battle. Now teams decide on a pair and sent them out."

Team Sapphire came together and talked about it. Mat already shown a lot of skill in the first round and it would be a shame if he did not go again this round; they stared over at the other team whom sent out a Leavanny and Lilligant; they had a long and hard discussion before sending an unexpected pair out.

"Wow looks like Team Sapphire is taking a risk; well no matter, this is after all a battle tournament. Now ladies and gentleman! We have Arthur the Eevee and Jake the Pikachu from Team Sapphire against Clover the Leavanny and Maggie the Lilligant from Team Nature. This is a double battle, no time limit. Let the battle begin!" As Arthur and Jake dispersed and the battle started; Aries asked Mat something that she was curious about.

"Why did you see those two dumb bells out?"

"We had worked out a tag team formation already and Arthur and Jake's tag team pair up was more based on their superior speed." Mat explained. "The strategy with those two was to keep using combination attacks while maintaining one step faster than the opponent. Both of those grass types were going to get chipped away slowly." Aries understood and look back at the battlefield; things were making more sense after learning what was the pairing meant to do.

Arthur and Jake were combining their shadow ball and electro ball overcharges and releasing them as a huge attack. They made use of their speed to evade almost anything thrown at them. Clover and Maggie were caught off guard with incredible display of teamwork and strategy; their attacks were simply not hitting their marks. Arthur and Jake were closing for a finish strike on at least one of them; that was when things started to change. Both Clover and Maggie released a mist of Magical Leaf and they all homed in Jake; wanting to take him out first due to type advantages then take out Arthur do to superior numbers. Arthur had dug around the battleground just before and there were holes for Jake's escape. Jake made a sharp turn to the right and dove into a hole and somehow dodged the homing magical leaf. Arthur continued his attack without Jake but added his Extreme Speed into the mix and managed give Clover several hits before he backed off and took a rest. Clover was on her knees after the onslaught, Maggie was about to administer something but Jake popped out and finished off Clover and dealt a knockback on Maggie. With Clover out of the picture, it was now a very favorable position for Team Sapphire; the crowds were going wild for the sheer excitement. Maggie was not going to let her team down like this and did the Teeter Dance. The power spread to Arthur and Jake who started dancing as well and it rendered them completely confused. Maggie took the chance to use Quiver Dance and it raised her attack and speed. Arthur and Jake were powerless as they were still confused; Maggie just got stronger and faster with each dance she performs. Arthur was the first to snap out the confusion and he woke up in time to witness Jake getting hit straight on with a Solar Beam; Jake was hurled to the wall and the impact cause the wall to crack. Arthur only had one advantage: his speed but if he is going to pull any miracles, he had to risk. He used Double Team to form duplicates of himself to throw Maggie off and it worked. Maggie had no idea which one was the real Arthur so she lobbed several Energy Balls at each one. That had bought Arthur some time; he first overcharged his Shadow Ball and released it and following it up with Extreme Speed but with all of the energy focused into an Orb as well and releasing it. The Speed Ball caught up with the Shadow Ball in seconds and they fused to form what seemed to be a bullet and it stuck its mark dead on. Maggie did not know what hit her as she blacked out; the crowd was awed by the showcase of a combination.

"Wow, what a way to start the day! Both Clover and Maggie are unable to battle so the victory goes to Arthur and Jake! They are now entitled to proceed to the third round!"

Arthur returned back to his team as a hero, he took a heavy risk and now he was paying the price: he was exhausted. Speed Ball was something that Arthur had been experimenting with and if it had failed at that moment, they would have lost as he would have ran right into his own Shadow Ball. Arthur looked around; wanting to get an approving smile from Sakura but strangely Aries and her had disappeared. They soon heard an explosion on the top of the coliseum: there was a battle ongoing right now.

Sakura and Aries had noticed something particularly strange with the way Clover and Maggie played: it seemed like they were holding back. They also felt the sensation whenever a Magical spell was cast; they left secretly to investigate. Their tracking took them all the way to the roof of the coliseum and only to find Elise and the mystery pokemon. Aries identified the spell that Elise was doing: a mind controller spell. It was a vortex spell and those spells vary on user.

"What are you two up to?" Aries demanded while Sakura just gave her most aggressive expression. Aries waited then realized what they were doing: they were controlling the tournament battle down below. "Stop it!"

"Hmph… Elise you can take care of these meddlers…" the mystery pokemon said before she leapt off the roof and left into the forest. Elise stopped her spell and decided to fight the both of them. Aries and Sakura charged up with an element, Life and Ice respectively. By combining Vortexes with elements, Elise made some very ferocious spells. Elise had caused a Wind tunnel and it was dragging anything it could into its middle. Sakura used her Ice power to deep freeze herself and kept herself from being sucked in; Aries used Life to get Plants to hold her. Sakura charged up an orb and unleashed huge icicles that overloaded the Wind Tunnel and thus destroying it. Aries came forward in front of Elise and used Leaf Blade. Elise managed to dodge the first and used a Wind Punch with her tail and blew Aries back quite a distance. Sakura broke out of the ice and dashed forward, having an ice spear floating above her head. Elise countered Sakura in a similar fashion, the ice spear shattered. As the both of them were getting up, Elise prepared a huge Air Bomb and let it loose. Explosion.


	18. Chapter 18

Sakura and Aries both were blown off the roof by the Air Bomb. Aries used the wall to propel herself and catch a hold of Sakura whom fell unconscious due to the explosion. She then twisted and used Vine Whip to grab a hold of the tree below her. Using the momentum, Aries swung herself, along with Sakura, into the air again and then landed safely on the top of a tree. After making her way down slowly back to the ground, Aries brought Sakura back to the dormitory. There was an investigation for the source of the explosion but there were no clues on what happened earlier. Team Sapphire returned to the room only to find Aries tucking Sakura to bed.

"What happened to Sakura?" Arthur asked as he came right beside her. "Wait; were you both involved in that explosion?"

"You can say that but we did not cause it. Elise was tipping the scales into your favor." Aries said and the team was shocked. "Haven't you noticed at the start, Team Nature was a little too unprepared for your combinations?" The reality struck the team hard, the whole reason why Clover from the opposing team was eliminated so easily was due to Elise; after Clover was defeated, and Maggie showcased what her team could really do. "Also I realized something… Elise wants you all to win very badly. I have a hunch that she joined this tournament to elevate your chances."

"But what does she gain from all this trouble?" Mat asked, trying to fully understand the situation. Aries closed her eyes then took a deep breath.

"She wants you all to win so that Sakura and I would be away from the protection of the guild and consequently easier to attack." Nearly everyone gasped and then darkening silence took place.

"So you finally figured it out, couldn't leave well enough alone?" said someone and to nearly everyone's displeasure; Elise appeared at the door. The team back away and took their aggressive stances. "Ease yourselves; I am not looking for a fight or anything but to talk." Everyone was not convinced at all. "Fine, meet me out back and we will talk."

Everyone was in a tense bind right now; they are choosing who to go and who to stay. Aries was insistent on going to meet Elise so it was Mat and her who would be going. Elise was completely alone with Aries and Mat came out to the back.

"Now what you do think you're doing sabotaging other teams? It is against the spirit of the game." Mat demanded; Aries was keeping her sharp eye on Elise.

"Didn't you both just figure it out? It is easier to attack your own team than invade a guild of elite pokemon. If I am not mistaken, I am sure you all would rather have your precious girl in your presence than have a guild take care of her." Elise replied; they all were at an impasse.

"I have a proposal: you stop with your sabotaging and we promise that we will win this thing." Mat suggested and Elise was skeptical about that. "As long as you stop, we will win. Your cheating might get my team disqualified." Aries giggled snidely.

"If you use any of your magic, I will just give a counter spell. So it's best that you leave well enough alone. I am done with this discussion." Aries said and she left, leaving Mat and Elise alone.

Aries returned to the room to see everyone else in a crazed alert mode. Aries approached Sakura and then lightly tapped her forehead and a ring appeared around Sakura's head. It was the impression of the spell that had been casted on Sakura and it was rather faint, the spell was slowly wearing out. Aries then tapped the ring and it slowly grew fainter but there was still an impression. Aries felt a great sense of pity about what Sakura have to go through: it was more than what she had to endure.

The effect of what Aries did to the spell was slowly doing its work. Sakura was starting to remember something from her past, particularly the moment when she was out cold but still listening to a tense situation. She could not make out who or what they were saying but that piece of the memory as she would soon find out contains one of the most important information that completes her life. She had recalled most of the moments from when she was born to now and now she was at the last stretch on the road to recovery.

Soon everyone was just sitting around the room just trying to pass the time as the third round was not going to start until tomorrow. Sakura had woken up by dusk; Aries and she were sitting by the window while the others went out to train for the third match. They had shared some of their stories, more over to Sakura's new recollections. Aries hid the faintest of smiles as she already knew that Sakura was going to tell her sooner or later. As they were enjoying themselves, a Pelipper flew overhead and landed nearby.

"Excuse me, ladies, is there someone by the name of Aries?" the postman-Pelipper asked holding a neat looking letter. Aries took the letter and thanked the kind Pelipper and then she opened it up and read it.

_Dear baby sister, Aries,_

_I had been worried sick ever since you and Sakura were kidnapped. I recently heard that the Shaymin Guild had you and Sakura kept under protection while Team Sapphire undergoes a test. I honestly think that they stand no chance but I kept up to date with the events; they are doing rather well for middle silver to early gold rank team. If they could not succeed, I am requesting you to be sent back to Spring Town: things here had been quite peaceful but administrative matters are still an issue and you know me; I can't do this for long or I will expire. So try and hurry back. Oh yeah, Darrel sent another ten letters for you; I am forwarding the general statement of the letters at the end of this letter._

_Love, Sylva_

_Dear Aries,_

_Hey girl, it's has been a long time since we met each other. Why don't we hang out sometime like we used to do and you can show me how much you grown since we last met._

_Ps. can you at least reply to me?_

_From Darrel,_

Aries tore away the part that contained Darrel's handwriting and promptly tore it up into shreds, surprising Sakura at the same time. Sakura never seen that much anger and hate being shown by Aries, she was normally very calm and cool-headed about things. Aries was looking both angry and strangely scared that she stared blankly into thin air. Silence consumed the moment. Aries took deep breaths, trying to retain what was left of her sanity. Sakura was little worried for her and she tried to comfort her by gently patting her back. However that was a huge mistake as Aries attacked Sakura in the moment of rash retaliation. Sakura got back up but Aries dropped to her knees and her face started tear up.

"A penny for your thoughts," Sakura suggested and she helped Aries to a bed and got her comfortable. Aries required a moment to gather her thoughts due to the trauma; Sakura took the time to get Aries a glass of water from Magic. Aries drained the glass of its water fairly quickly before she recounted the story.

_It was several months ago; Spring Town was under Raider's control and as such many were__ suffering; there was always a chance that a young pokemon like Aries at the time would be taken away and be forced to join the Raiders. Being the youngest daughter of the former president of Spring Town made her a huge target. Aries was still attending school at the Orchid High Academy in Spring Town and Darrel was her Treecko classmate; they both were rather close back at the time. They often shared their lunches when food was lacking and helped each other. But all that changed in an instant._

_It was a fateful day, there was a prom being held for the seniors and both of them were invited as scrape-goats for two stubborn pokemon who wanted to make the opposition jealous. So after they served their purpose, they were sitting by themselves at the side. Darrel then openly described his feelings for Aries; of course, she was all too happy to return the pleasure. However, what Aries did not know was, Darrel was recruited by the Raiders a week ago and they set the thing up so that Aries would join the Raiders by her own free will. Darrel took Aries somewhere he said was 'special' and 'meaningful' but it was all lies. Darrel brought her just a few buildings away from the Academy and then he pinned her down to the ground. Aries had struggled slightly as Darrel was acting strange and soon she realized what was going on. Lust had taken over Darrel and he tore apart Aries's dress that she wore to the prom earlier. Aries quickly used her Leaf Blade to knock Darrel away, she looked at him with swollen eyes, hoping that Darrel was just pretending to do what he did but she was just fooling herself. Soon the other Raiders showed up and the gig was up too, Aries barely fought off the Raiders that night and escaped into the wilderness ever since. Since the trick was reveal, the Raiders had no choice but to capture Aries to keep the control on Spring Town. Aires made herself a secret base and slowly took off the clothes that she put on for the night. She could not even bear to look at them and could not stand to wear anything formal. In her eyes, it was more than just a betrayal: it was a 'death sentence' of her heart. Aries swore to never again be tied down by the same situation ever again and made her life on the Outskirts of Spring Town; Sylva got Aries's message saying that she need not worry about her and to live on. It had been that way until Aries met Sakura._

"So Sylva does not know anything about Darrel?" Sakura asked. Aries shrugged at the word of her former crush but nonetheless shook her head. "No, as in Sylva does know about Darrel or No, as in Sylva does not know?"

"My sister does not know anything; I did not want her to know anything… I can take care of this myself." Aries replied clearly recounting the horrible past was very demanding on her. "I need to sleep this nightmare off…" Sakura left the room to give Aries some peace as she deserved it after what Darrel did to her. Aries used to be the same as Sakura but shock was more intense that her behavior and habits were modified accordingly to maintain an edgy outlook. Before Sakura could close the door fully, she heard Aries mutter something that sound vaguely like 'I have feelings for him but… I guess I was just cheating my own heart.'

Sakura went to the battle room and decided that she had to help Aries to ease her spiritual load or one day she would just shatter from the sadness that was building up within her. She went to the side and took out a letter from her bag and began to write to Sylva about what she heard and hoped that she help Sylva by denying Darrel the chance to get to her again. After she finished the letter, she used magic to transport it to Spring Town, where Sylva the Servine was working in the Town Hall. She opened the letter and read it attentively.

_Dear Sylva,_

_Hello. I am writing this letter as I am very concerned for Aries. I am sorry if you are startled by the method of delivery as I am a little skeptical about the Pelipper post. Either way, this is more about Aries than it is about me. Darrel had broken Aries's heart and as she living in the forests, she kept it to herself and refused to let it go. So as a friend, I am writing to you is to ask that you help Aries keep her distance from Darrel. She had undergone so much and she deserved this period of relaxation. If it's possible could you consider, letting her come along with my friends? I know we are in a time where anything could happen: like we both getting protection by staying with the Guild or travelling with the Team, but regardless I am confident my friends will succeed. It is for her mental health stake, as her sister, you would not want to see her upset or heart-broken over Darrel._

_So please help her._

_From Sakura_

* * *

**I am trying a new save format feature. Can you kind people review and tell me if it is any better than the previous?**


	19. Chapter 19

The crowd went wild as the third round was about to start. Mat detected Elise and her mysterious friend sitting with the audience; most of their Raider teams they brought with them were already eliminated in the second round. Mat and his team were doing some light warm up for the third round; it was going to be more intense than the second round. The Lopunny commentator who was normally in a hidden room overlooking the battle was now on field, sitting with a few important pokemon: first of all was Daniel the Shaymin, the guild master; followed by the Sun-Grove battle Champion, Nova the Milotic and lastly, much to everyone's surprise, were Melody the Glaceon and her entire family.

"Alright everyone, welcome to the Third Round which is also the Quarter Finals of this battle tournament; team had shown the true spirit of the game and had given all of us the exciting rush of watching Pokemon fight each other. For the remainder of the tournament, I have with me a couple of notable pokemon that had been invited to watch this event. First of all, we all know Daniel the Shaymin: the founder of the guild. Next to him, quite popular for her performance in the Sun-Grove Championship Tournament, is Nova the Milotic. And perhaps the most distinguished of them all was Team PokeLife: the family of hero and heroines that had saved our world more than once already! Give it up for all of them!" the Lopunny exclaimed into the microphone, the crowd was just filled with contentment even before the match began. Sakura looked to the side and saw the familiar face of Melody, Kyle and the strange Pikachu whom she failed to catch his name from last time; Chloe, Ken and Eve were already by their side. Eve could not help but wave cheerfully to Sakura who she caught attention of. "But first, do any of our guests have any words to say about the teams in the first third round of the day?" The attention was thrown to the panel and they were looking at each other wondering if they should say anything. Nova had something to say first so the Lopunny held the microphone for her.

"First of all to Team Sapphire, I heard that there was a 'backstage' deal behind this whole tournament. I honestly think that all of you were really pushing your luck as this competition had one of the most fearsome teams I ever encountered. So just some words of encouragement for being bold and standing up for what you want. To Team Tactical, you were one of the most highlighted team I ever seen. All of you were able to team up and work well; I admire that kind of spirit. So to all the competitors, good luck," Nova said, her soothing yet dynamic voice boomed across the stadium and pokemon were listening attentively. Sakura and Aries, even though were not battling, they stuck around their team mostly to support them. Lopunny seemed to have thought that the panel might have too much things to say so immediately proceed to the monitor. The words rolled around in a roulette fashion and suddenly the spinning stopped prematurely and two words flashed momentarily: Special Battle.

"Wow looks like our first battlers of the day would have the pleasure of playing an entirely different kind of battle." Lopunny said and the regular flat grass field was swapped out for a rocky-water type of field. In the middle of the field was a small water pond; the rest of the area was littered with boulders and stones. "Now the monitor would select the method from the special set." The attention returned to the screen that had started to spin already. Both teams were caught off-guard by the sudden changed; only the panel of guests was unfazed by the sudden switch. The Lopunny had asked if any of them had anything to add in while everyone waits for the monitor's randomizer to choose.

"Thanks, Lara. This special method was only added this tournament as we had felt that the old style of battle tournament had been getting boring with time. The special mode was to also challenge the team's intelligence and creativity to respond in a completely different situation; this was very important as during explorations, things could all change in an instant." Daniel elaborated on the special mode. There were mutters and whispers from the engaging discussion from the crowd. The Monitor now displayed the words: Speed Tag Battle. Daniel smirked but concealed it properly. "Since I am still speaking, I will explain the mode. If you don't mind,"

"Not at all Daniel, it is a pleasure."

"Speed Tag involves multiple targets with special help from Sakura and Aries, if they would be so kind to come up here later. Each team would aim to hit three hundred targets and whichever team is the first would be declared the winner. Of course, since this is speed tag… the competitors are now wearing a special band." Daniel continued and everyone then noticed the battlers have a red or blue tag around their body, dependent on their team. "Those tags would force a switch out when triggered so the team members must be prepared to take over at any one time. There would only be two pokemon on the field at any one time." Aries and Sakura both were already beside Nova and getting their instructions. Daniel passed back to Lara who waited for the signal to start; Jasmine and Oliver came out onto the field as so did the opposing team having two Pawniard out on their side. Both Sakura and Aries were doing something odd: they had charged up their magic and then they unleashed them onto the field and orbs started to appear in random places.

"Alright, looks like everyone is ready… Now let's battle!" Lara finished and match officially started. The screen now shows the current pokemon on the field and a gauge of how many targets were hit. Jasmine let loose her Razor Leaf and some of them struck the targets and the orbs changed from white to red and shot towards the monitor that started to count the score. Aries and Sakura had weaved together a few vortexes and orb spells to enable this kind of battle to happen. Soon everyone got the gist on how it works and then it was when things had started to get interesting. One of the Pawniard was focusing on getting the orbs while the other was focused on switching out their opponent which everyone was still clueless on how it works. Oliver saw the attack coming his way and redirected his ember attack at him; one of the flames struck the tag and it was activated. One of the Pawniards' pictures disappeared from the screen and was replaced by an Emolga. And at the same time, an Emolga was forced onto the field. The score at that instant was Red Team (Team Sapphire) at one hundred and fifty to Blue Team (Team Tactical) one hundred and five. However, unexpectedly, Emolga unleashed her discharge and it hit Jasmine and Oliver; both of their tags triggered and Mat, along with Arthur was switched into battle. Mildly shocked at the switch, Arthur and Mat soon got to work. Arthur was making use of his speed to tag the targets while Mat was using his own razor leaf. Arthur managed to 'tag' the opposing team and forced the both of them to switch out once again to Klinklang and the previous Pawniard. Klinklang had locked on to Arthur and took him out with an easy zap cannon; his partner at the moment was raking in the points. The score now stands at Red Team at two hundred and ninety-six to Blue Team at two hundred and ninety-seven; the match is nearly over. Things were looking bad for Team Sapphire: without Arthur's speed, they could not possibly hit the four remaining targets before their opponent does. On the field there were only four orbs left and each is now floating around lazily, slightly leaning to Team Sapphire's side. Mat shielded an Orb from the Pawniard's attack and forced himself to switch out to Jake; the other member on field was Oliver and he realized what Mat was doing and followed his lead and he got swapped out for Jasmine. Jasmine quickly unleashed razor leaf but the opposing Klinklang blocked it with a well-aimed Flash Cannon and it also took out Jasmine as well. Arthur finally got swapped back in and Jake had hit one orb but he got tagged out. Another Lock-On was activated and Arthur had only one chance while Mat got placed into battle. A Zap Cannon was getting charged up as Arthur sped towards the orbs.

Blood was being pumped at a rapid pace; time seemed to have slowed down for Arthur as suddenly his trait was triggered: Eagle Eye. With Eagle Eye, Arthur could see everything in front of him; he could see the Zap Cannon being fired towards him as he tagged the first orb. He somehow dodged a locked-on attack by abusing the field's rocky terrain to shield him and he got the second target. The last target was now floated above the pool and the opposing team's Emolga was preparing a Discharge. With Extreme Speed being in use, Arthur had one choice: he had to use Speed Ball, not to strike the target but to push it out of the field so he could save it from that discharge. Focusing his strength while running towards it, he unleashed his Speed Ball but he ran right into it.

The crowd and the panel could not see what had happened as it went too fast for the naked eye. The monitor showed a replay that was delayed by a few seconds. Arthur, under the effects of his own Speed Ball, propelled forward at an alarming rate. He had broken the sound barrier and made a sonic boom. A lot of pokemon covered their ears in pain due to the sound and then the match was over. When Mat looked up at the screen, both teams were at two hundred and ninety-nine each. Arthur flew out of the stadium and into some place unknown as the last orb was counted. It was such a close shave.

However celebrations were halted as the Team went out to find Arthur who disappeared and only with the clues shown on the replay, they ran in the direction they thought Arthur went. Sakura and Aries dropped to the ground panting as they strained their powers to help keep the match going. Eve came up to Sakura and Aries, apparently still unable understand what was going on just now, and passed them each an Oran Berry and a Charm Berry. Sakura, being exhausted, took the Charm Berry and ate it first by accident. Sakura's eyes suddenly lost the sparkle of life and she slowly started to smile awkwardly and Eve backed away as she did not know what was wrong. Sakura then lashed out at Aries who was blind-sighted. The next match was then delayed as Aries and Sakura took the field and began to battle.

"Hold on, looks like there is something going on as Sakura had suddenly attacked Aries." Lara commented into the microphone and the crowd watched them.

"It's not her fault!" Aries yelled out to the panel as they started to stir. "Can someone please freeze her solid? That's the only way to stop her!" Aries barely dodge the barrage attacks administered by Sakura; she took at defensive stance to this situation and kept avoid. Aries tried all means to seduce Sakura: she tried to restrict her movement by using her vine whip and also used Leaf Tornado to trap her in a vortex but Sakura, in this state, was extremely powerful. In fact, Aries saw something inside Sakura's lifeless eye: a separate being. Aries suddenly changed into an offense position and returned fire. Using her Leaf Blade, she spars with Sakura who was using her Iron Tail. Melody soon rushed out into the field and froze Sakura solid. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Sakura was such a sweet girl, why would she attack all of a sudden?" Melody the Glaceon asked as her husband, Kyle the Umbreon came onto the scene. Aries told them what she knew about this reaction that Sakura had with Charm Berries; Melody and Kyle took a very strange interest in the subject. "Could we talk somewhere else? I think I heard about her condition."

Meanwhile, Mat was just using his Vine Whip to lift Arthur, who was then conscious, from the sea. They all proceeded back to the dormitory; they found Sakura, struggling against Aries's grip around her. Melody, Kyle and the trio of eevee: Chloe, Ken and Eve were looking at her. There was also a Pikachu who was waiting outside. Arthur recognized what was going on after looking at Sakura in that state. Sakura was struggling awfully hard; Aries was having a hard time keeping her under wraps. Soon Sakura just fainted on her own accord and everyone breathed a little easier.

"It was as you saw Aries: Sakura have an evil twin of herself within her." Melody said and everyone gasped. "It is uncommon that a pokemon is allergic to Charm berries and based on what you told me earlier, Aries; I could guess that Sakura's natural allergy weakened her to the point she could not control her other self but Sakura does not know that she was sub-consciously holding her evil side back."

"Should we tell Sakura that she have someone within her?" Arthur asked and everyone was pondering for a few moments; Team Legend (Chloe's Team) decided to leave as their match is going to start. The strange Pikachu from the entrance came into the room and startled almost everyone except Melody and Kyle.

"Melody… I need to say goodbye, I am needed elsewhere right now," the Pikachu said as he checked a strange electronic device strapped to his arm. "It is best to tell his girl about what resides in her so she could better understand her situation." Melody grinned and nodded in his direction.

"Sure, thanks for everything. Oh Leo, could you get Eve a present from wherever you are going?" Melody asked, Arthur's eagle eye noticed Melody's old worn out explorer badge and then Leo's badge: they are in the same team, Team Pokelife. Leo responded with a smile and turned to leave. "Only a week left until I am ready to explore again and you promised Leo… my dearest partner…"


	20. Chapter 20

Team Sapphire left Sakura to sleep, leaving her a few berries that were meant to give Sakura some energy; they were going to watch Team Legend who was going to take on the defending champions in the third round. It felt different to be in the crowd overlooking that battle, it was a single battle and Eve was on the battle-field dancing around with an Oshawott. Chloe and Ken were looking at how Eve battles and were seemingly analyzing her movements.

Sakura, back in the room, was just waking up. Only the sound of papers being flipped greeted her; Aries was the only one in the room, wanted to wait for Sakura. Sakura gasped her head in pain and then she noticed Aries by the corner; her leaf like tail swishing around lazily. Sakura then turned her attention to the berries left by her team; she felt awfully weak ever since she woke up so she took an Oran Berry and took a bite. The symphony of flavors companied by the plentiful nutrients gave Sakura an immediate energy boost. Sakura pulled away the blanket and got out of bed; Aries noticed and closed her book.

"Well, it is great that you recovered from your episode." Aries commented as she got on her feet. "Listen Sakura, it is not easy for you to hear this but you need to understand it." Sakura tilted her head in confusion and they both settled by the window, Aries recounted what happened while Sakura could not remember; Sakura freaked out and was in a trauma. Aries had to bind her with her vine whip again just to keep her from harm. "I know that you are shocked but you got to control yourself. Just keep avoiding those Charm berries and you will be fine! Understand me?" Aries suddenly said with her tone taking an upward spike. Sakura cowered under the superior tone and just nodded silently and soon she was released. Sakura was still weakened by the Charm berry from before and so went back to sleep; Aries kept watch over her and returned to her book.

Meanwhile, Eve was losing her grip on the battle as with every water attack, the grass gets slipperier. A Razor Shell attack was coming her way as she was recovering from a slip; Eve noticed but she somehow remained very calm and counter-attacked with Shadow Ball. Arthur the Eevee was rather sharp due to his Eagle eye trait and detected that a faint smile on Eve's face. Mat the Leafeon was also sensing that Eve was not even trying her best; Chloe and Ken were not even bothered by the fact that Eve was behind instead, they looked rather bored.

"Eve, can you stop playing around already?" Chloe yelled out at her sister on the battlefield. "That poor Oshawott cannot keep this up as you know." Chloe was correct as due to Eve's hyperactivity trait, she could outlast her opponent in terms of stamina. Chloe's speech made everyone very curious and then it was a stand-off. Eve was still bright and energetic but her opponent was already exhausted and out of breath; the match seemed to be in Eve's favor all of a sudden. There a twinkle in Eve's eyes and then as her opponent raced towards her with Razor Shell; Eve's paw was charged up with a strange form of energy and it took the shape of a blade; Eve then charged as well and when the two attacks collided on the middle of the field, both pokemon stood still after the impact. Eve's blade had shattered on impact: it was made up of pure ice; the shell that Oshawott had used flew to the side of field. After a few bare seconds, Oshawott fell to the ground and passed out; the victory was taken by Team Legend. Mat and Arthur were both shocked at what they had seen, most of the crowd was on the same page as them; some even asked for a validation as what they saw was unnatural. Melody the Glaceon took the microphone from Lara the Lopunny and explained what was going on.

"I know some of you want an explanation of the ice attack and I will provide the details. Eve is my daughter and she had a unique trait which is called Icicle Expression, it allows Eve to control temperature around her and thus able to use Ice attacks. There is surely no cheating involved." Melody said into the microphone and everyone seemed to have calmed down since it was not against the rules. Icicle Expression was a very rare trait that Eve inherited as Melody was a Glaceon. If Team Sapphire were to go against Team Legend, they might need to come up with a strategy to adapt to Eve's ice power. The semi-finals matches will start very shortly and the team involved were Team Sapphire and the Raiders. All of them proceeded to the side of their respective sides and prepared themselves; Mat and his team had fought Elise the Delcatty before when they were rescuing Sakura but that was rather long ago, Elise must have gotten stronger than the last time they faced off. Mat looked over and only saw Elise. The commentator Lara said all that she needed to and due to it's the semi-finals, the mode was decided between three only: Single, Double or All-in battle modes. The mode for this match is All-in; everyone came onto the grass field. Just when everyone was about to say that it was unfair, Elise then have strange beings standing by her side.

Sakura woke up shortly before the match had begun; Aries and Sakura were now making their way to the arena to support their team, they were just passing by a window that allowed overviewed the entire battle. Sakura and Aries both were stunned when they saw the Desires, beings of pure obsession, attacking their team. They immediately rushed out to the battle ground; things were looking bleak for their team. Oliver and Jasmine were on the edge of getting knocked out; Arthur and Jake were having a handful dealing with the Desires. Mat was the only one fighting Elise and was not doing too well. Elise then used her Air Bomb and it bombarded the area, she also followed up with a Wind tunnel. Team Sapphire was blown and sucked into the vortex; the Desires went in and dealt a series of attacks to them. When the wind stopped, they all dropped down onto the field. Oliver and Jasmine were knocked out while Arthur and Jake were still standing but barely, Mat was dangerously reaching his limit. Elise smirked and then the Desires disappeared.

"Hey, Team Sapphire!" Elise called out while they were still recovering. "I have a message for you from someone you know, after you win this tournament, meet her at Dark Valley and don't keep her waiting or else…" Elise then turned to Sakura and then something whizzed to her paw: Sakura's key. "Or Sakura will not see this keepsake ever again." Sakura was shocked and she tried to charge at Elise to get her key back: it has a lot of sentimental value to Sakura as it is the only thing she received from her deceased mother. But before Sakura could snatch it back, Elise teleported to the roof and exclaimed. "Oh yeah, I give up on this match and make sure you all win." After that she completely disappeared. Sakura was extremely upset that she just collapsed into a heap on the field and cried her heart out. Aries tried to comfort her while she gently took Sakura back to the room. The match was given to Team Sapphire who won by default. Though the match was short, the crowd seemed satisfied and everyone left in anticipation for the Finals tomorrow where Team Sapphire would go up against Team Legend.

Gloom fell upon Team Sapphire as they felt that they were defeated by Elise rather than triumphed in victory. Sakura's precious key was also stolen in the process as well. Sakura sobbed into her pillow and did not stop until she fell asleep in her tears. Arthur then remembered something; he had Sakura's camera with him the whole time and failed to take any pictures of the place. He slid the picture he had taken in Coral Town into the album and then he invited the rest of the team, save Aries who wanted to keep watch over Sakura, out to create memories that Sakura can keep forever. Whirlpool Island catered to many teams that were from the Shaymin Guild so there were a lot of shops for Explorers to purchase good equipment. But the most significant thing about the island is the photogenic view from the peak of the mountain; Arthur along with Mat went there while the rest of the team does some window-shopping. Aries kept reading her book: The Chronicle Tide silently, it was a book that gave her valuable information about the one of the most historical events in Magic history. It took place at the same time when Time was in danger of collapsing (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon's Storyline). The story within it was an interesting read for Aries. Similar to Sakura, she too also was also doing her trials but she was ahead of Sakura slightly by just one trial: the basic Vortex usage. Aries faced Desires in her last trial and it was tough defeating them as they could only be fended off by Magic attacks.

Sakura was still upset by dusk and could not even smile at all; there even seem to be a dark cloud over Sakura's head. Aries was now playing orbs; her life orb was floating about and manipulating plants to form various patterns. Sakura got up and then walked out of the door without even muttering a single word. Aries got worried and followed her; Sakura was heading to the docks and was intending to leave before the match was over. Aries then blocked Sakura's way before she could continue any further.

"Aries, get out of the way…" Sakura said, her lifeless voice droning. Aries shook her head and Sakura sighed; she was insistent on leaving to get her key back. "Aries, just like your Rescuer badge is important to you, my key means a lot to me as well so please get out of the way…" Sakura's tone was growing more serious with each second.

"But if you leave now, where do you think you will find Elise anyway? Please Sakura, trust in your friends and we will help you look together." Aries reasoned with Sakura. "I don't think that a day's lead can take Elise very far, so just be patient and I think Elise took your key to lure you away from protection." The words finally convinced Sakura to at least stay till the next day. On their way back, they saw Team Legend eating by an ice cream parlor with their parents.

"Hi Sakura! Hi Aries!" Eve yelled when she noticed them. Sakura and Aries came over to say hello; Melody and Kyle looked at them and smiled brightly. Sakura tried her best to at least put on a smile for the loving family that sheltered her and Arthur when they were on the run last time. The both of them sat down with them and soon a conversation start.

"I saw what happened at the match and I am so sorry, Sakura," Melody started off. "I should have stopped that Raider before it was too late. I should have taken action."

"It's alright there was nothing you could do…" Sakura managed to say and then she was offered some ice-cream. Sakura, using magic, checked it for Charm Berries before taking a spoonful. The cold and sweet taste bought a faint bit of happiness back into Sakura but her heart was still missing a piece. Chloe and Ken were tenderly looking at Sakura as if she was their own sister; Eve was distracted by Aries's large leaf tail and could not take her eyes off of it. Melody and Kyle were discussing their plans after they finished with their duty here.

"You know ever since your sister was still around, we had never really taken a trip to Darkwood Town," Melody said to Kyle who was surprised, he thought that Melody had forgotten about his sister who gave her life for the pokemon world. (Orphan Eevee Stories' Storyline) But nonetheless was considering the option of going to Darkwood town. "Maybe it would be your chance to pay respects to your mother…" Darkwood Town was where Kyle's mother grave was located and he had never got a chance to visit it to pay his respect. He was once part of an evil organization and he chased after his sister but when he realized who she was, he decided to change sides and now he lives a relatively happy life with Melody and the three kids.

"Well it would be nice to go there at least once, but I thought you need one more week to recover from giving birth to Eve." Kyle asked and Melody laughed slightly.

"The week was to take care of her but now that I have Chloe and Ken to take care of her, I am able to go. I will be sure to invite Leo, we had not explored together in quite a while." Melody replied and so they made their plans. Aries and Sakura spent the rest of the day talking with Team Legend about their match tomorrow before they set back to their dormitory to end the fateful day.


	21. Chapter 21

The next day dawned and everyone on Whirlpool Island was very excited as today marks the end of the annual battle tournament and the finale match between Team Sapphire and Team Legend. Both teams survived their way through several matches to reach where they were now; competing for the title of Champion and for Team Sapphire, their pride and right to protect Sakura and Aries. There was a lot on the line for Team Sapphire as they needed to finish up the match and then help Sakura chase Elise the Delcatty who stole her precious key necklace. Also they needed to go meet with a stranger at Dark Valley on their way to Jube City from Coral Town. However the time now is still early in the morning.

Sakura had not sleep very much at all as she was still upset that her key was taken away so easily. She kept to herself and just stared into blank space; the key belonged to Sakura's mother before she passed away and it was given to Sakura when she was born, it was the only connection Sakura had to her mother. Sakura was born with a sad background and the only way to help her to overcome it was to have friends that would make her laugh every day, but currently all of them were busy trying to win the competition and she only have Aries the Snivy for company. The other day, Sakura and Aries were talking with Melody the Glaceon and Kyle the Umbreon, the parents of Team Legend, they were making plans to go to Darkwood Town after the whole event is over. Team Legend consisted of three Eevees; Chloe, Ken and Eve, as since in their match against the defending champions, Eve was a very unique Eevee with a special Trait ability called Icicle Expression that allow her to wield the power of Ice despite being an Eevee. Team Sapphire is going to have a tough time finding a way to adapt to Eve's ability.

The moment is soon approaching, everyone had a light breakfast before they all proceeded to the stadium where the match is being held; crowds filled the seats very quickly and there was a lot of noise being generated as they were anticipating the result, it was rare that a junior team like Team Legend would reach the finals and Team Sapphire was a recently entry as well. The commentator throughout the tournament, Lara the Lopunny, soon took her place and began to announce the match after the panel of invited guest came in.

"We all have seen teams getting defeated and winning throughout this tournament; now is the moment all of you have been waiting for: the Final match!" Lara bellowed into the microphone and the crowd went wild, cheers can be heard from the audience. "Now is the match between Team Legend, the team that had been the defending champions as if they were a joke, and Team Sapphire, who had shown us how to truly rumble in the competition. I cannot even tell who is going to win this match as both teams were making their first appearances in the tournament. Now let's have the judges choose the method of battle."

This was slightly different as normally they would let a randomizer choose but now it's up to the panel of guest whom they now refer to as judges. There was a small discussion before Daniel the Shaymin, the guild master, whispered to Lara.

"Alright, looks like it is going to be an All-in battle! Now let's invite Team Sapphire out onto the field; Mat the Leafeon, Jasmine the Chikorita, Oliver the Charmander, Jake the Pikachu and lastly Arthur the Eevee!" The crowd cheered as the team entered the normal dirt ground battlefield. "And now let's have Team Legend; Chloe the Eevee, Ken the Eevee and of course that icy girl, Eve the Eevee." The three came out cheerfully onto the field and waving to their parents at the panel. Mat, however, was a little worried about their expressions: they seem awfully confident about winning and thus very bright; Mat was also concerned about Eve's ice capabilities as Grass types are not to favorable with Ice attacks and if Eve had such a trait ability that means Chloe and Ken may have something up their sleeves. Team Legend entered the field with Chloe in the center, Eve on the left and Ken on the right. Arthur could tell that they had a strategy in mind but he wonders what it is, since this is a full all in battle without limitations, anything could happen.

"Ok looks like both teams are ready. Remember this is a timed match, if you get knocked out, you will be eliminated and unable to rejoin the battle, now… Let the battle begin!" Lara yelled and the battle has officially begun. The timer on the monitor had begun to count down from five minutes. With every interval, the teams get a few minutes break to discuss strategies or rest up but the condition is if they get knocked out in the battle before the time was up, they would be considered eliminated from the battle.

Ken and Eve used their speed and dashed off to their respective sides while Chloe stood at where she was. Team Sapphire was more focused on Eve than the other two. Oliver decided to chase after Eve as he had the advantage over her; Eve smirked and it was immediately detected by Arthur, thanks to his Eagle Eye trait; Eve and Ken was just a distraction while Chloe charged up an attack. Mat was the only one who saw what was Chloe doing; Chloe was charging her Shadow Ball but she charged it beyond the size of a normal and safe overcharge. Arthur was pretty sure that it would explode on her so decided to ignore what she was doing and chase after Ken, who was quite speedy. That was a dire mistake as Chloe had finished charging and unleashed a shower of super charged Shadow Balls onto Team Sapphire and those attacks home in on a nearby target. Mat then realized what Chloe's trait was, it was Inner Control, it allowed her to overcharge attacks like that and still maintain control when normal pokemon could not. The shower of Shadow Balls required Team Sapphire to separate in to teams of two or three. Eve was facing Mat and Jasmine while Ken was handling Arthur, Jake and Oliver on his own.

This was beyond what Team Sapphire had planned as Oliver was supposed to take out Eve quickly so she does not pose a problem. Eve jumped into the air and Mat smiled slightly: Eve was making herself vulnerable to any attack. Jasmine used her Razor leaf, targeting at where Eve would be if she descended uniformly; Mat was charging an Energy Ball. Eve then conjured a ball of ice energy and transformed it into an Ice Beam, she aimed on the ground where she was above and it formed a tower thus Eve dodge Jasmine's Razor Leaf but it sliced the tower she used into two. Eve used the momentum and leapt even higher and used Iron Tail on one of the remains of her tower and chiseled it into a slate that she made use. Another round of Ice Beam was used but to make a type of track and soon Eve was skate-board around the battle-field. Mat was already overcharging his Energy ball when that happened so he aimed at Chloe who burrowed underground. Eve was cleverly using her newfound speed to dodge any attack while using her Ice Beam to shape the field to her liking. Jasmine got surprised by the Chloe who came out from underground after a series of Shadow Ball being fired from the holes she made on the field.

Meanwhile, Ken was giving Arthur, Jake and Oliver a tough time on his own. He somehow managed to duplicate himself on the battlefield and both of them were super evasive. Arthur was quick to grasp the fact that Ken also had a trait as well; it was known as Super Reaction, it was a simple trait that makes Ken able to dodge, block or counter attacks more effectively; Ken was not showing any signs of anything else special so he was fighting rather standardly. Jake and Arthur were able to handle one of him with the help of speed but Oliver was struggling due to the tendency of them switching partners.

Eve soon struck Oliver with a well-timed Shadow ball and Oliver was getting hammered by Ken as well; Mat saw what Team Legend was planning and charged off to protect Oliver. Jasmine could not match the firepower of Chloe so she decided to take it to a melee battle and went close and unleashed Leaf Blade, Chloe then burrowed again causing the attack to miss. Eve flew skywards then lobbed the piece of ice that was her slate down to the battle field before she came after it with an Ice Blade attack. The slate was shattered in mid-air and the remains flew in all directions, hitting everyone who was not burrowed; the ice bridges she made also collapsed and those near them were trapped. Ken had burrowed before the ice barrage came and soon Team Legend was back in their original positions. Mat and Jasmine were hurt badly due to their weakness to ice; Oliver managed to protect Arthur and Jake whom at the time were closest to him. The time limit was over, that was the reason why Team Legend stopped. Both of them left the field with nobody eliminated yet but Team Sapphire was getting dangerously close to the limit. Aries and Sakura were observing the battle and were discussing among themselves.

"Those three were really putting their hearts in the battle." Aries commented and Sakura agreed, this heated battle was making her forget about her key. "Eve was in charge of stockpiling those ices to unleash a finishing attack at the end; Ken made use of his clone to keep our team busy and Chloe started the battle using her ability. They are really powerful due to their teamwork."

The second round was about to start and they went back onto the field, Team Legend kept the same formation as last round, Team Sapphire had decided to change their plans. When the bell sounded, Ken and Eve both burrowed while Chloe was again charging her Shadow Ball. As planned, Arthur charged up with Jake right up to Chloe and was about to use their double Iron Tail but then Ken emerged and his clone, they both used Protect; saving Chloe from being eliminated straight. The Shadow Ball was nearing its maximum charge and then she unleashed it again, causing Team Sapphire to split up again but Chloe suddenly had strange Crystals orbiting around her. In fact, she was not moving at all but the crystals were gleaming unpleasantly in the sunshine. Arthur and Jake were fighting Ken and his clone; Eve was taking on Oliver, Mat and Jasmine. Eve was using Ice Blade against Jasmine's Leaf Blade, the attacks clashed and then Jasmine was frozen. Eve then backed off strangely and then Mat realized it, Chloe had a free line of attack on the helpless Jasmine. The black crystals around Chloe were gaining in speed and glowing even more intensely; in an instant, they all fired in quick succession a Shadow Bullet. They were rapidly advancing on Jasmine; Mat swiped away Eve and then used Protect to safeguard Jasmine who was just thawing out. The first two bullets struck the barrier then the remaining three got pass and one of them hit Mat squarely on the head while the rest hit their mark. Jasmine was struggling to get up; one more attack and she would be knocked out. Chloe was still stationary and her eyes were even closed, the crystal slowed down after their first barrage and was slowly charging once again for another attack. Ken was doing a swell job of protecting Chloe while she does her technique, Mat had to buy time for Jasmine for her ability to kick in: Jasmine's trait ability is photosynthesis, whenever her health is down, she could recover her health but staying still and absorb the sunlight. Eve whacked Oliver hard on the chest and he was hurled backwards, Eve then fired an Ice Beam straight at Mat. He blocked it with his Leaf Blade but the Ice Beam kept him distracted; Chloe was about to fire again and Ken was holding off Jake and Arthur. Arthur pushed Ken back then he charged off as the next barrage was fired, he tackled Eve out of the way then him and Mat used protect. Something that they did not know is that Chloe was in total control of the bullets, she changed the bullet's target to Oliver and all of them hit their mark. Oliver was completely knocked out. Arthur and Mat dropped their protection as Jasmine had recovered and they focused heavily on Eve, Chloe stopped her charging and began to help Eve. The crystal strangely remained but they maintained their speed, the crystal served as blockers against attacks. But then, before she could reach Eve, she and Mat exchanged attacks and the time was up. Mat and Eve were standing but not moving and then Mat stirred in pain but Eve simply fainted. The side judges were having a tough time deciding then said Eve was eliminated.

Eve, instead of going to side like Oliver, went to Melody. Melody spent the break, trying to cheer her little child up after an intense battle. Oliver was also rather unhappy that he was the first to get knocked out but the rest of the team cheered for him like he was a hero as Eve was also eliminated. They all eat some Oran berries to regain their strength before they all went back onto the field. Chloe and Ken were starting to show signs of strain; Ken and his clone charged towards the team, Chloe immediately burrowed into the ground. Ken then summoned something like a blade to the side of his paw and using agility, his clone and he both sliced as many pokemon as he could. Jasmine and Jake were hit first whereas Arthur and Mat were able to protect themselves. The attack was very crippling as Jasmine was already cringing and it dealt quite a large bit of damage; Jake was barely hanging in. Chloe came out and the crystals that she had summoned and charged underground; she unleashed a more rapid barrage with less charging time but less damaging. It all hit Jasmine and Jake and they both were knocked out; Arthur used his Speed Ball and threw it at Mat's energy ball, it sped through the air and hit Ken hard. Ken was smashed into the wall and he got knocked out shortly. Strangely, Ken's clone was still functioning and it attacked Mat with a sinister blade that he had used against Jasmine and Jake. Mat was then cringing. Seizing her chance, Chloe merged her crystals together and lobbed it at Mat. Arthur put up a barrier using Protect but the crystal compound shattered it like it was glass and hit Mat straight on and when it broke on impact, the pieces then homed onto him. Mat was eliminated by the onslaught of merciless attacks. Now stands Arthur and Chloe on the grass field. Everyone was shocked at all of the moves that Team Legend had just pulled off and were moreover, impressed. Eve was cheering for her siblings with her mother while Sakura, Aries and along with the other members were also cheering for Arthur.

"Hey, you're not so bad… this is really the first time we fought so hard." Chloe complemented as she walked sideways carefully. "I am impressed."

"You three are not so bad yourselves, don't hold back or this match would not be any fun." Arthur said, clearly knowing he might regret it later on.

"Oh, don't worry." Chloe said darkly and then she summoned the same energy blade like the one Ken used. "I am not intending to lose."

"Likewise,"

Arthur then used his Extreme Speed to cover the distance, Chloe used her crystals to block Arthur and cause him to suffer from recoil damage. While Arthur was dazed, she ran towards him with her crystals firing moderate bullets at him while her dark and translucent blade stood at the ready. Arthur ducked and rolled on the grass and barely dodging the bullets that were homing on him. The blade was coming closer and then there was a clash, Arthur's Iron Tail had clashed with Chloe's Luna Blade. Both of them were locked in a stalemate as they tried to power each other. Chloe pushed Arthur back then hopped backwards and then did something expected: threw the Luna Blade like a boomerang. Arthur evaded it the first time by moving to the side. Chloe released her crystals and they limited Arthur path that he could run to escape the return of the Luna Blade. Arthur thought quickly and decide to give this match to fate, he leapt upwards and launched his special Speed Ball to the Luna Blade and activate his Extreme Speed, if he is lucky, the Blade will accelerate and hit Chloe right back but if he was late by a split-second he would get hit and the match will end in defeat. The Speed Ball impacted with the Luna Battle and as Arthur hoped it accelerated into a sonic wave and then the blade was dangerously close to Arthur, it was way too close, Arthur felt that he might get hit if this continues and thus his risk would backfired. Chloe saw Arthur leap and she lobbed her new set of crystals at him. That attack pushed Arthur further and then he was safe and the blade struck Chloe head first and she cringed at her own attack; Arthur failed to land gently and received some fall damage. Both Eevees were clearly at the limit. Arthur charged forward and Chloe did the same with another Luna Blade charged up. They clashed again and both of the stood silently with their backs facing each other. They were panting and exhausted by the sheer effort needed to keep up with each other's pace. Everyone else was holding their breath as they could tell it was the end, both of them used up every shred of energy they had and soon one of them will collapse. Arthur was the first to move and he crashed to the ground, enduring the pain he received. Everyone gasped and his team was worried; Chloe turned back and she looked at Arthur struggling before she too crashed onto the floor but she fainted. And the match was over.


	22. Chapter 22

The epic conclusion to a very splendid battle; Team Sapphire won over Team Legend to be crowned champions of Whirlpool Island and as part of their deal with Daniel the Shaymin, Sakura and Aries officially rejoined their ranks. Team Legend was very modest about their skills and was still rather happy with the result albeit they lost. Winning the tournament was very fruitful as they all learn more skills and ways to communicate better and also there was a few prizes. Mat the Leafeon and his entire team, save Sakura and Aries, won a place in the hall of fame on Whirlpool Island; passes to travel to and fro between Coral Town and Whirlpool Island for free; a mysterious box; a special rank for their badges and the honorable battle trophy and gold medals. Team Legend got the silver medals and special rank and also a Rare Box; Eve opened the box in excitement and revealed three four-leaf clover charms. The defending champion team, Team Storm, won third place and received the bronze medals and special rank.

Sakura was the first one to embrace Arthur when he got his award and even gave a small lick by the cheek; Arthur blushed and shyly showed her the awards. Since there is a photo-taking session for the hall of fame, Sakura joined the photographer in capturing the moment. After some pleasant goodbyes and farewell wishes from a lot of teams that entered, Team Sapphire got on a ferry back to Coral Town. Sakura then remembers about her lost key then she started to pace around worriedly; Arthur noticed and tried to take her mind off of it by showing her the photos that he had taken in Coral Town and Whirlpool Island.

"This is one was when that pidove dropped his droppings on Mat when we were posing for the fountain shot." Arthur explains as Sakura saw an angry Mat and a Pidove apologizing to him in front of a fountain. Sakura laughed heartily at the picture, giving time for Arthur to get the next picture. Aries was having some light training exercises with Jasmine in a room for designed for battling as she had not battled for days and was worried that she had gotten rusty; Sakura was Nova's apprentice and had high expectations for her so she asked Arthur to be her battle partner. Mat and Jake, as well as Oliver, was looking out upon the scenery.

"Hey Mat, I know this is something that I should not ask but… do you miss Crystal?" Jake asked as she came beside him to see the blue waves. Mat bit his lip as the tournament had taken his mind off about losing Crystal. "I mean you came a long way, now we are heading back to Coral Town and to meet this mysterious pokemon at Dark Valley en route to Jube City."

"I know… to me, Crystal is the only one I will ever have feelings for. You don't know how we met; it was an unpleasant accident actually…" Mat said while secretly letting a few beads of tears loose into the wind.

"You know if Crystal was around, I think she wanted you to move on though…" Oliver commented and Mat really considered that carefully.

Meanwhile, in the battle rooms, Aries just finished her match with Jasmine as she was deemed ready for action; Sakura was having some problems as Arthur does not take their battle seriously so she asked Aries swap partners. Arthur was dragged away under Jasmine's control as the two pokemon practiced their moves. The ferry normally takes one day to reach Coral Town so everyone had plenty of time to relax.

It was soon lunchtime; Sakura and Aries finished training and were in prime shape; Mat was still thinking about Crystal; Arthur, Jasmine, Jake and Oliver were enjoying a conversation about the final battle with Team Legend.

"Arthur, you were so cool back there. I almost thought you were finished when Chloe used that Luna Blade as a boomerang." Oliver said as they enjoyed some pokebread and some fruits. Sakura, as usual, had made her own food or was avoiding Charm Berries by eating the berries straight. Arthur did not mind sharing the same kind of food as Sakura so he ate the special batch as well. He was tenderly feeding Sakura some piece of pokebread and Sakura took it kindly; everyone could not help but just steal a glance at the both of them being so romantic with each other. Mat, however, was not even noticing and was eating in silence. As Sakura was enjoying the sun on the deck, a pelipper came down with two letters for her: one is from her father back in Sun-Grove and the other was from Sylva, Aries's older Servine sister. Sakura opened Sylva's message first as she knew whatever was inside the letter from her father was going to be either bad news or something that she would not like to know.

_Dear Sakura,_

_Thanks for letting me about Darrel, that jerk would not bother my little sister ever again. I was hoping that Aries could return to Spring Town at the earliest time possible as I am swamped with the administrative matters but my sister's happiness is more important than my lack of knowledge on this matter so I am giving her permission to keep traveling. I would get some more help with the work so that I will not be burned out; I know that she is in safe hands if she is with you all._

_From Sylva_

Sakura smiled widely as she read the simple letter; she folded it promptly and placed it into her bag. She then took a look at the letter from her father, hesitating before opening it. She braced herself for bad news then unfolded the paper.

_Dear Princess Sakura,_

_Someone had broken into our castle and opened one of the Arcanum Vaults. The one that was broken into contains something valuable; the key for it was in your possession the whole time. I do not know what had happened but according to Flare, it was some strange beings that looked like pokemon and were immune to any normal pokemon attacks. I wish to inform you of this as I fear of your safety, Team Sapphire is still a ragtag team after all and they do occasionally fail to protect you. If possible, return to Sun-Grove as soon as you can._

_From King Cedric_

Sakura touched the spot that her key would normally be; beside her heart. It opened something, something that belonged to her more likely as only her key would unlock. Sakura failed to notice that there were two sheets of paper and just kept it into her bag; she now wanted her key back even more desperately now and to re-obtain the item that was stolen. Night-time approached quickly; Jasmine, Sakura and Aries shared a room together while Mat, Arthur and Jake took another. Sakura was helping Jasmine check up on any outstanding injuries that she may have taken during the battle tournament. Aries was enjoying a delightful aromatherapy emitted by Jasmine and a herbal tea that she ordered previously.

"These cuts look painful," Sakura commented as she applied medication. "Looks like Ken did not hold back when he attacked." Both of them giggled as they continued to check up on the wounds. Meanwhile, with the others, they were checking the map and confirming their route so that they can set off immediately after reaching Coral Town. They also do not have much information on Jube City, only that it is the capital of the entire region. Mat looked out the porthole and it was getting late; he wanted to ask Aries the Snivy, the only one who knows the region, about Jube Town but instead he waited till morning.

Morning came and the ferry was already docking into Coral Town; everyone got off the boat, Oliver was suffering from a mild case of motion sickness so was lying on his back on Mat. They made their way to a café that Aries recommended to have some breakfast; Aries collected some Poke from everyone and she proceeded to buy the food. It was a rather simple café with a few seats indoors and outdoors but the atmosphere was rather friendly; there were a couple of other pokemon whom were also eating; they seem to know Aries as they greeted her as she passed by. The array of soups with wisps of steam dancing on its surface; golden-brown pokebread; roasted berries and aesthetically appealing sodas was brought to them professionally by Aries who used her vine whip to help out. Sakura checked her food but then Aries's vine tapped her shoulder; Sakura turned to look and Aries winked at her. Sakura smiled back and then took a bite at her pokebread, it was extremely crispy. The soup and sodas were very refreshing and the roasted berries were delicious. Mat took the chance to ask Aries about Dark Valley and Jube City.

"Jube City, it is one of the most technologically advanced towns and also the capital of this region. According to the Rescuer's data, the Raiders pooled most of their members into Jube City and that is where their headquarters is located. Its city defenses are not to be underestimated though, Jube City has several defensive measures and they also supply their law enforcement with the latest in containment technology." Aries said then she took another bite at a pokebread. After a sip at her soda, Aries began to describe about Dark Valley.

"Between here and Jube City is a row of mountains, there is a path in the middle. Neither sunlight nor moonlight could properly light up the pathway properly so that why it is called Dark Valley. There was two ways to pass; one is by an underground passage way, or the side path around the mountains; the latter mentioned would be the longest yet the safest but the other is short but it is filled with a lot of obstructions that may be life endangering."

Soon they finished up and as the dishes were cleared, they quickly checked up on the equipment before they set off. They still had the Mysterious Box that they wanted to open together but at that time, it did not feel right so they packed up after checking and departed from the shop to the path to Dark Valley. They were debating between the two pathways; taking the underground passage and risk the hazards or take the mountain path but it will take all day. Aries knew the underground trail very well so she decided to move off first, saying that she will re-join them somewhere when the two routes meet. The rest of the team decided to take the mountain path and it was also the most photogenic.

Aries stood at the start of the trail and leapt down to the chamber; this place had scald several adventurers as there were a lot of geysers that occasionally shot up boiling hot water; the steam also obstructs vision so it was a really challenge. Aries knew where the exit to the place was and skillfully made her way across. She had a few close encounters but she did not flinch at all. There is a trick to leave the room; everyone must use the geysers to levitate themselves using the steam updraft. Aries somersaulted into the up-going air and she swiftly made her way across.

The rest of the team was having a boring time walking the path; they started to play a few simple games to pass the time and they played truth or dare; it was Arthur's turn first.

"Ok, Sakura truth or dare?" Arthur said first and Sakura picked truth. "Do you have feelings for me?" Sakura stopped in her tracks suddenly causing Jake to knock right into her. Sakura was trying to control her emotions but was having trouble as her face is already blushing. "Remember, you have to tell the truth!"

Sakura said something softly; they could not even hear it at all; even Jake who is very close to her at the time; Arthur clearly saw her mouth moved so he asked her to repeat. "I said my answer already. Now is my turn!" They continued on like this for a while until it was Sakura's turn once again and she this time directed it at Arthur; he chose truth and Sakura was waiting to ask him something. "Have you ever betrayed someone?"

Meanwhile, Aries had skidded across the hazards and she reached the meeting point with a good amount of time to spare; Aries looked around and then suddenly noticed someone just waiting by the clearing; Aries inspected the pokemon and realized that it was the same pokemon that she met back in Whirlpool Island and was closely associated with the Raiders.

"Hey you," Aries said as she approached the mysterious pokemon who was shrouded in the shadows of her cloak. "Didn't we meet back at Whirlpool Island? Are you with the Raiders?"

"So many questions and yet, I am afraid I have no time to answer them all. I am expecting someone else to meet me here." The suspicious pokemon said as he paced around. Aries was getting a bad feeling about this and recalled that her team was supposed to meet someone here. "Do you know where Team Sapphire is?"

"In fact, you better tell me what you want with them," Aries said and the cloaked pokemon looked at her. "I am an outstanding helper of their team and their problem is mine as well."

"Very well, but I am not spilling the beans to you."

"Looks like I need to force it out of you." Aries said and they battled.

Back with Team Sapphire, Arthur was struggling to find a response as the truth is hurtful and he could not bear to tell it. Sakura was waiting for a reply to her question as they are walking; they were nearly reaching the location where they meet Aries and the contact. Sakura stopped Arthur and looked him in the eye.

"Well I am waiting; did you ever betray someone before?" Sakura repeated her question, Arthur swallowed but then realized, lying was what gotten him into trouble.

"Sakura, to tell the truth, I actually…" the sentence was cut short as something had exploded nearby and it diverted their attention. They quickly rushed to the clearing; only to find Aries getting defeated by the same cloaked figure that she noticed back in the battle tournament; they arrived only to see Aries get her magical powers pulled out of her. The cloaked figure casted a vortex spell and it sapped Aries of her magical powers and transferred it in to him.

"You… were magic? How is that possible? Most of the mystics had drained out naturally." Aries said as she struggled to stand up. "Just who are you anyway."

"Oh Aries, I made a deal with the master; and now, if you will excuse me, I want to finish my end of the deal." The cloaked pokemon turned her attention at the rest of the team and that moment was a little careless; Aries, pushing herself, managed to Leaf Blade and it broke the bindings on the cloak and it slipped off.

Everyone gasped as the identity is finally revealed; Sakura could have fainted but was still conscious due to disbelief. Some of them took a step back, thanks to the shock and the sunlight gleamed down on the pokemon. The sky blue and naval blue color of the pokemon sparkled; Mat stepped forward and blinked quickly and even pinched himself to see if this was a dream. The Glaceon looked at them with a dire look and eyes that seemed soulless.

"How can this be…? Crystal!"


	23. Chapter 23

The cold wind picked up in speed as the former team leader of Team Sapphire stood against everyone. She was slightly stunned at her identity being revealed but after that she seemed to be unnerved. Mat and Sakura were particularly surprised at Crystal's appearance as something had happened before: back at Mt. Silver, Crystal leapt in to save Sakura, Arthur and Aries when they were held captive by the Raiders and the trio had to leave the Glaceon behind or they would have gotten captured again. Afterwards, Crystal's old cloak fell down on Sakura after they had rejoined the others at the base of the mountain; Mat, later, went up there and double-checked for any sign of Crystal but he could not.

Now Crystal was standing in front of them and now she was completely different; her eyes had become soulless and her usual shiny fur was all dusty and messed up as if she went through a big ordeal. Aries, after using her attack to cut the bindings, fainted from exhaustion as Crystal had sapped her Magic power from her and Aries was no longer a Mystic.

"Crystal…? But how is this possible? Mat told us that you perished," Arthur asked but his question was left unanswered by Crystal who summoned the Desires to her side. "The Desires work for you?"

"Get rid of them all…" Crystal said, her voice sounding monstrous: it was a mixture of two voices. "Except Sakura…" The Desire leapt in and started to attack. Team Sapphire formed up and counter attacked as well.

Mat's Leaf Blade pushed the front few away from the formation that his team had made to protect Sakura; Aries was left to the side. They all poured in to form a solid protection barrier that seemed to be completely clear of flaws. Crystal saw that and she then focused her inner powers and caused a wind tunnel at the center of the team; Sakura was trapped in the eye of the storm and was unable to get out; everyone else was hurled away. The Desires split up to deal with all of them.

Arthur was facing two on his own; Jasmine, Oliver and Jake were facing one each and Mat was fighting three. Sakura was still 'caged' in the vortex; Crystal was not budging to lend a hand to the Desires, instead was just standing and focusing on the wind tunnel. Arthur tried to use his extreme speed to flank the duo but the Desires were very strange beings and they suddenly interrupted his dash and caused him to recoil while just somersaulting backwards themselves; Arthur suffered the recoil and with a bit of surprise. Mat swiped away the trio that was after him with his Leaf Blade and tried to regroup with the rest but he was stopped by the trio that recovered fairly quickly and was then stabbed in the stomach by a sneak attack. Oliver unleashed his flame thrower attack which the Desire reflected it at Jasmine who used Leaf Storm right back; the leaves burned and Jasmine took the punishment for the Desire. Jake's Iron Tail charge was useless against the Desires and was then grabbed by the tail and hurled at Oliver; Oliver and Jake got knocked down along with Jasmine.

Sakura shot out of the vortex using her Water Magic that shot her upward in a geyser and she landed in front of Crystal; instead of having the normal determined look, she looked sad and reluctant. Crystal had teleported over to Aries and summoned Orbs that held Aries in place by attaching them to her legs and arms. Aries was floating in mid-air and Crystal had drawn out her Icicle Blade; Crystal then took notice of Sakura; Team Sapphire was pinned down by the Desires.

"Stop it Crystal! Why are you doing this?" Sakura cried out as Crystal looked at her emotionless. Crystal then tossed a small box at Sakura which landed at Sakura's feet. "What's this supposed to mean?"

"You want your precious little key back, don't you? I took it from Elise and the 'object' from Sun-Grove palace." Crystal said and Sakura opened the box without hesitation: Sakura's key necklace had a lot of sentimental value to her. The moment she opened the box; a blinding light covered the area.

Sakura felt a very friendly sensation and it was intoxicating; it was similar to the sunlight and joy she loved very much. She felt it surrounding her and eventually becoming a part of her. When the light disappeared, Sakura saw her key within the box and took it out; Crystal waited for Sakura to wear her necklace before moving; the rain started and causing everyone to be wet. Crystal was charging some sort of spell and Sakura was completely unaware, but Arthur was.

"Sakura look out! She is doing something!" Arthur called out and Sakura then saw what was Crystal doing; white and black orbs were now orbiting her and they were accelerating quickly. The similar orbs that held Aries in place appeared on Sakura. Before Sakura knew it, the white and black orbs combined and shot as a single beam towards Sakura.

The heightening pain that Sakura suddenly felt was huge; Sakura felt that something was being ripped from her but she could not understand what it was. The pain was not making it any easier as Sakura felt like her heart was being ripped apart so she screamed at the top of her voice to at least ease the pain a little.

Arthur and his team watched in horror as Sakura screamed; Sakura was emitting a dark vapor that was slowly materializing in front of Crystal. At first the silhouette was not very clear but soon the dark vapor became an Eevee. This Eevee had the usual brown and cream colors but they were at a darker tone; the eyes were as red as blood and he stood there, scanning Crystal. Arthur could not shake off the feeling that Dark Eevee might be connected to Sakura in a way; Crystal then offered that Eevee an Orb that he simply took it but not use it.

"I know you want to face the strongest opponent and that will take you to him," Crystal explained to the Eevee whom then used the orb and disappeared. The Desires also vanished along with him; Sakura, after the pain subsided, fainted while Crystal just set her down roughly and looked at Team Sapphire who was beaten up badly.

"Crystal, you had gone too far!" Arthur growled and he charged at Crystal, full of hatred and anger. Crystal simply teleported out of the way and Arthur went headlong into a tree; causing an apple to drop and hit him on the head at the end for a humiliating end. Crystal then barely evaded an incoming Leaf Blade attack from Mat; Crystal used her tail to sweep the floor and knock Mat off balance.

"You two take Sakura, Aries and Arthur to shelter! I will handle Crystal," Mat instructed and Jake and Jasmine set to work (Oliver had already ran off for shelter when the rain started), they grabbed the unconscious Snivy and Eevees and went to the nearby cave.

"You can't be serious… You stand no chance against some pokemon like me," Crystal commented as she stared at Mat with her empty eyes. Mat tried to strike Crystal with his paws while still on the ground but Crystal blocked it easily. "Why not just give up and accept fate?"

"I know this is not you, Crystal! Crystal, if you are in there please fight it." Mat yelled and he back away after recovering. Crystal suddenly stopped moving when she was charging at Mat and was grasping her head in pain. Crystal winced in pain and left herself open to attack by Mat. Mat seized the chance and struck her with an Energy Ball Overcharge; Crystal tumbled backwards and she was still having a horrible headache.

"Get out of my body! I have finished my end of the deal!" Crystal yelled out to nothing, in her original voice. "But I could not bear to part with such a willing puppet…" Crystal replied herself in a completely different voice; Crystal began to thrash about and Mat had to do something to stop her. He used his Vine Whip to hold down Crystal as the inner conflict was going on; Crystal suddenly stopped moving wildly and then pulled at the vines and decreasing the distance between Mat. She then slashed Mat with her Icicle Blade; Mat crippled slightly as he got up. "Now where were we, boy?"

"No…" Mat whispered to himself as he just protected himself against another Icicle Blade. He then released an orb of energy into the air and it punched a hole in the thunder clouds, causing sunlight to beam down on him. Being a grass type, Mat charged up a Solar Beam and managed to hit Crystal with it. Crystal took the blow bravely and it pushed her out into the rain again, she smiled as she lifted her tail into the air and the lightning in the clouds started to gather. Mat watched helplessly as the electricity charged up Crystal and soon she was carrying a possibility fatal charge of electricity. Mat had no other choice, since he could not fight sense into Crystal; he had to do something risky.

Taking a leaf out of Arthur's book, he leapt out of the glorious sunshine that he created and pinned Crystal to the ground with the help of his vine whip. Crystal's body was carrying the charge but since Mat was earthed down, it did not really hurt him. Crystal managed to push Mat away with her tail and was focusing an attack with the electricity.

"Crystal! Before you fire your energized laser at me, I got to say something to you!" Mat yelled out at Crystal who seemed to be unmoved by his speech. "The times that I had spent apart from you made me realize. The moments that we had shared together were very precious and they can never be replaced at all. Even if you forget, deep down you know that those times were the best and we need to cherish them as much as we need to cherish each other. So even I were to go down right here, I would wish that you never forget me."

Crystal looked at this scene and the laser was nearing full charge; she heard what Mat said. The real Crystal managed to regain control from the Master and she was struggling to lock him out of her mind; an idea soon came to her but it was risky and she might lose her life, she looked at Mat with teary eyes. The rain pelted her and she knew that those would be Mat's tears if she were to truly perish.

"Mat…" Crystal managed to say in her true voice and Mat was thrilled to hear her voice again. "I am sorry…" Crystal broke the safeguard armor that was keeping her insulated and she was electrified with the high voltage. The electricity caused the connection between her and the Master to break apart and thus freeing her from his control.

Mat looked in shock as Crystal was suddenly zapped and her burned body was collapsing right before his eyes as he was rushing across to catch her. Although with the rain pouring, Mat saw Crystal's face smile as she was falling as well as a tear drop from her eye. Mat caught her in time and he was very frantic; he shook Crystal gently just to keep her conscious. Some of the static electricity stung Mat but he took it as if it were not there. Crystal's eyes reverted to their usual shiny form and they were barely open; Mat was relieved that she was still awake.

"Crystal! Please… didn't you hear what I just said? We need to cherish each other!" Mat said while still panicking, his tears were splashing down along with the rain. Crystal smiled weakly as Mat embraced her lovingly.

"I am sorry… for everything I had done… if I do not ever wake up again… please do take care of the team for me… Looks like it would have been better if I had perished on the peak…" Crystal muttered faintly as her senses started to fail her and she fell into a deep sleep. Mat tried to keep his cool and not cry but it was too much for him that he poured out all of his bottled up feelings in the form of tears as he hugged Crystal tenderly before taking her to the cave that his team was waiting for them and to provide treatment to Crystal's serious burns.

Meanwhile, somewhere in another dimension, the Master awaited the dark Eevee that was teleported to him. They were on a platform surrounded by darkness and the only light was being emitted from the platform. Chains held onto the Master as he waited; those chains were the consequences of his actions. He was once obsessed with power and control and nearly destroyed the world while trying to master them; a group of mystics confronted him and sealed him away in another dimension so that he would not cause any more trouble to anyone else. The Eevee arrived in good time and stopped just before him.

"Ahh… there you are, my worthy opponent." The Master said; the dark Eevee was unimpressed as he inspected his foe. "I know you are eager to start your battle with someone as powerful as you are… I am happy to abide but as you can see, you would need to release me first." The dark Eevee had only one goal in life which was to fight worthy opponents until there were none left, so he could not care much about the results of his actions. He slashed apart the chains and they vaporized right before him and the Master landed in front of him.

The battle started immediately, the dark Eevee leapt right in front of the Master and began hacking away with his iron tail. The Master placed up a barrier that was going to shatter at any moment so he teleported across the circular platform; the eevee broke apart the barrier before firing a shower of Shadow Balls at the Master. The Master, undaunted, used four different elemental orbs of fire, water, wind and earth to counter every Shadow Ball. The dark Eevee then charged up an attack and the Master was also doing the same. At the same time, a Hyper Beam and a Tri-Attack was launched it collided in the middle. The two ultimate powers caused a huge explosion and the dark Eevee was blown away, off the platform and into the endless abyss below. The Master kindly teleported he back onto the platform and the Eevee bowed to him, accepting his defeat.

"That was rather easy… and as a consequence for losing and making me bored at the same time… I will take your powers and make them as my own." The Master said and the Eevee's essence was then absorbed into the Master and making him stronger than before. The Master looked at his paws and the dark powers overflowing. He laughed darkly then sat down to meditate at the center. "My resurrection… is at hand." Dark mists engulfed the Master as he focused his newfound power; something sinister has been set in motion.


	24. Chapter 24

Three days had passed since Crystal the Glaceon and Team Sapphire were reunited at Dark Valley; now they are all staying a nearby cave by a Clearing. The clouds roam lazily in the sky; sunlight shone down on the earth in a gentle ray; Crystal had woken up a day ago and they were just waiting for Sakura to wake up. Aries the Snivy had woken up two days ago but she could barely walk on her own and she often feels tired; Crystal was suffering from trauma and was in no better shape than Aries.

Sakura woke up in an isolated place; skies were purple and there were floating bits of earth above an endless void. An Eevee was already waiting for her; he had a similar black and gray fur coat. Sakura opened her eyes and met the red eyes of the other Eevee. Sakura was a little curious about the Eevee in front of her as his fur was styled in the same way as hers; he wore a pentagram necklace and he was perfectly leveled with Sakura based on height.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked slowly as she inspected the location she was in. The bit of earth that they both were on was barren and floating in the middle of nowhere.

"My name is Polaris, I am the current Master of Magic…" the Eevee said and Sakura flinched as she was in the presence of the one who would evaluate her skills. "I took the liberty of summoning you to this dimension along with… someone else…"

As Polaris finished, another pokemon materialized beside him and Sakura got scared and jumped. Sakura then inspected the pokemon and soon recognized him. "Riley?"

Riley was the captain of the Elite Guards back at Sun-Grove; he was also a Mystic but was feeling the strain of the decline. Sakura was all too familiar with how the Trials work and was a little timid about facing Riley. Polaris was waiting for Riley to fully appear before he decided to speak.

"You two are each one of the three remaining mystics in the pokemon world; only one of you three would rise above the rest and eventually face me to be declared the new Master. Now Sakura… Riley, you both are the first two to face each other; the victor will challenge the next mystic which is Crystal, the princess of Icicle Castle. I wish you both the best of luck…"

Polaris disappeared and Sakura and Riley looked at each other; they had been friends ever since Sakura woke up with no memory of the days before and he had helped her train in Magic and Regular battle.

"Look Sakura… I can't bear to fight you so I will just…" Riley started and Sakura placed her paw on his lips to silence him.

"No regrets, remember? Since we were blessed to have the power, let's do our best." Sakura said as she walked to the edge. Riley's eyes widened in fear when Sakura just walked off as if she did not see the edge; he rushed only to see Sakura walking on air using a wind vortex spell. Sakura winked at Riley as he followed Sakura's lead.

Riley's paws suddenly ignited with fire and he threw fire balls at Sakura; Sakura saw the fire balls flying towards her and made two vortexes and she made the fire balls go into one of the vortexes and they exited out of the second as water spheres. Riley did not expect a conversion spell and tried to put a firewall up to defend himself. The water spheres evaporated on contact with the firewall but extinguished it as well; Riley smirked and charged forward while engulfed in flames; Sakura's paws were glowing light blue and she caused a small wave of water to appear and crash into Riley; Riley leapt up and then slammed into the imaginary floor and caused a fiery shockwave; the wave was shot backwards due to the shockwave and it drenched Sakura and the fire dried her as well as burn some of her fur. Sakura's paws stopped glowing in blue and it swapped to red; she then mimicked Riley's fire dash. Riley was shocked at the change and then he backed off and changed to the wind element; he quickly used the wind tunnel vortex and push Sakura up and stopped her from landing a successful fiery shockwave of her own. Sakura spun herself in the same rotation as the vortex and unleashed flames as she did so, intensifying the vortex's power under her command. Riley saw and then dropped the power of the wind tunnel. Sakura used the fire and dive straight at Riley and left a great impact; Riley had temporary fainted and without his vortex supporting him, he started to fall.

Sakura managed to grab him and take him to land. Riley slowly woke up and he was smiling; Sakura smiled right back as he was not hurt that badly.

"Wow you bested me again, Sakura, I thought your specialization was water but then again with the changing rules…" Riley started ranting as usual; Sakura silenced him in the same matter as before. "Well there is no shame in losing to you." They both of them disappeared into thin air as they returned to their world.

Sakura's eyes were closed and were about to open but kept them closed due to an interesting conversation between Crystal and Arthur.

"…I just can't… it would break her heart," Arthur said

"You cannot hide it forever, sooner or later she will find out and when she does…"

"I know Crystal… That betrayal still haunts me a lot."

"Hey! Sakura's waking up!" Jasmine called as she noticed Sakura stirring. Sakura rubbed her eyes and yawned as she got up.

"Good morning… oh Crystal!" Sakura yelled and she flung herself onto Crystal and embraced her with tears rolling out. "I honestly told you died… please don't scare us like that again!" Crystal shred some tears at dripped onto Sakura. After a while, Crystal broke the hug and she looked at Sakura tenderly.

"Well since we all are awake now… let's…" Aries said but then she lost her balance and Sakura rushed over and prevented her from falling. "Thanks…"

"Climb on my back," Sakura said and Aries looked at her in surprise. "Do I need to…" Before Sakura could finish, Aries got onto Sakura's back; Sakura felt the weight but it was not too overwhelming. Sakura passed her bag to Jasmine and soon they were setting off.

According to their maps, Jube City was not too far away from their present location and there was even a remote spot just on the outskirts of the town that they planned to stop at.

Sakura was carrying Aries throughout the entire walk there; Aries was grateful but was concerned: Sakura, on several occasions, nearly tripped or was shaky that Aries felt that her weight might be crushing her. Lucky for her, they arrived in due time before Sakura really felt the strain and they saw some pokemon already settled down in the location.

"Aries? What happened to you? Why are you so weak looking?" a familiar Servine said rushing over to meet them, especially to Sakura and Aries.

"I am fine, Sylvia…" Aries said vexed from hearing her sister's petty worries. "I am not a kid anymore… I am just tired that's all." Sylvia tenderly embraced her sister as it had been a long time since both of them seen each other. "Now what are you doing here?"

"Jube City was the first to fall under the Raiders when they attacked; it was the site of the Rescuers' headquarters," Sylvia said as she looked at the wall that surrounds Jube City. "This will be our last fight against the Raiders."

Mat and Crystal both looked at all of the Rescuers that had gathered for the last offensive and then looked at Jube City.

"Aren't you all a little outnumbered?" Crystal asked as she estimated the odds in her head.

"I didn't say that this was all of our help," Sylvia said as suddenly just behind Team Sapphire appeared the Shaymin Guild and coming from the path that leads to Spring Town was a group of Pokemon from the Exploration Federation. "We got all the help we need… I took so much effort to organize this."

Team Sapphire's jaw dropped to the ground as they saw the overwhelming numbers; they never seen so many pokemon except the Battle Tournament. Sakura also saw the Elite Guard from Sun-Grove within the crowd and also Riley leading them.

"Hey Riley!" Sakura called and rushed over; Jake and Arthur watched Sakura approached the Vulpix; Arthur felt envious of Riley as Sakura was hugging him affectionately like a brother.

"How are you feeling?" Jake asked cheekily to Arthur who was ragged at the scene; Arthur just nudged him for being cheeky and went to talk to the others. There was a briefing before the actual invasion of Jube City; all the pokemon formed a plan and it was their best shot: Due to the exterior defenses being too much for any frontal attack, they would need to send teams to infiltrate Jube City through the sewers or hidden or disguised so that they could reach the central hub that was controlling all the electronics and destroy it. Team Sapphire volunteered themselves along with four other teams including Team Legend but the task was best left to two teams.

"I am afraid not all of Team Sapphire is going for this mission…" Daniel said as he decided on Team Sapphire and Team Legend together. "Sakura and Aries would have to stay behind as we could not risk them getting captured." Sakura was about to protest when she saw Aries who was in no condition to do a sneak mission. "Now the task will be given separately so that both teams could handle it easier."

Team Sapphire and Team Legend would both use the sewers to sneak into the city; Team Sapphire's job is to destroy the generators and cause a diversion, Team Legend would then use the black out to slip pass all the detection and disable the defensive matrix. They were also supplied with incognito suits for moving around the area.

Arthur was finished putting his suit and was about to embark on the mission and Sakura was taking care of Aries who was starting to comment that Sakura had turned into her sister; Arthur looked at Sakura and silently muttered 'good-bye' before he disappeared down into the sewers.

Murky water that showed a sick sort of green and garbage floating on the surface flowed like a river from the pipes. The smell of slime and decay filled the confined sewer. Arthur followed the map written for his team and they reached the place where they part way with Team Legend.

"So break the generator and re-group in the hub," Chloe said as Eve and Ken continued forward. "Good luck, everyone is counting on you."

"Same to you, best of luck, Chloe," Mat replied as Chloe left and they started to ascend the ladder.

Meanwhile, back at the base camp, there was a strange sensation in the air as everyone prepared for the attack; Sakura and Aries both could not shake the feeling that something was watching them from a distance and they were not the only ones: Daniel and Riley both felt the same. A foreboding horn sound confirmed their fears as several pokemon rushed out from various direction and began attacking. Daniel quickly pulled Sakura and Aries to the sewers and told them to catch up with their team; Sakura did not complain as she dropped down into the sewer with Aries on her back.

Team Sapphire had already slipped out of the man-hole and ran across a street and hid into an alley; Sakura and Aries suddenly popped out of nowhere in a flash of light in front of them.

"Sakura, could you at least warn me? I feel sick…" Aries muttered as she tried to stop herself from vomiting. Sakura reddened due to embarrassment as she got up and all of sudden found Crystal pulling her to the side of the wall as a pokemon walked pass. They found the power plant after moving through the alley, they sneak in from an open window and tried to find the control room; they decided to split up to find the control room; Sakura, Aries, Crystal and Jasmine searched the top part of the building while the rest searched the lower half. They soon realized that there was almost no one guarding the building at all. Mat's team found nothing as they were poking around the basement; Crystal's team finally found the control panel.

"Now give me just a moment to…" Crystal said as she tinkered with the system before she felt something and blacked out. Jasmine strangely disappeared from behind Sakura and Aries as they saw who knocked out Crystal; Aries's face frown hard as her eyes met with the pokemon before her.

"Darrel…"


	25. Chapter 25

"I see you never forgotten about me, just perfect for me," Darrel snidely replied to Aries's response. Aries stumbled slightly as she stepped forward and Darrel looked amused. "So you haven't recovered, such a shame then, I was hoping for a good rumble before I defeat you."

"If anyone deserves to be defeated, it is you!" Aries shouted angrily at Darrel as Sakura supported her; Sakura glared at Darrel and back to Aries who was clearly in no condition to fight.

"Why not fight someone who you did not betray?" Sakura remarked darkly to Darrel as he was approaching. "You want a fight, you got one."

"Princess Sakura of Sun-Grove… well-known for her talents in magic, combat and acting." Darrel murmured to himself. "Worthy opponent for me." He grinned and raised his leaf blades in preparation; Sakura let Aries rest by a wall as she got ready to fight the Grovyle. "Little girls first."

"You will regret that…" Sakura whispered to herself as she sprinted towards Darrel. In one fluid motion, Darrel swiped Sakura off with his Leaf Blade and followed with a barrage of Bullet Seed. Sakura was pelted by the seeds but she manages to stop the barrage with a Shadow Ball. Darrel aimed his Bullet Seed at the Shadow Ball and it split into four and it exploded on contact with the systems and causing a black-out.

Mat's team heard the explosion upstairs and experienced the black-out soon after; using Oliver's tail flame, they tried to re-group with Crystal's team at the point they agreed on but they were nowhere near.

Sakura smirked as she had the advantage with the darkness; Sakura's superior senses pinpointed Darrel's location and she began to throw more Shadow Balls. Darrel strangely leapt to the walls and managed to attack Sakura with a clean Leaf Blade; Sakura's fur got trimmed slightly as she doubled over and rolled out of the way of the next attack. Darrel then charged up a beam that he fired at Sakura which caused her to scream in pain.

Arthur heard Sakura's scream and shortly the rest of the team heard it too and they rushed up to the top level.

"What was that…?" Sakura said as she limped in pain and sent light orbs to provide vision for everyone.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" Darrel howled with laugher as Sakura was hurt badly. "Master Polaris was helping the Raiders all this time! And he was the one who provided me with additional power against you."

Sakura's eyes glistened with hate as the master was helping the Raiders to cause unhappiness among other pokemon but she quickly returned her attention to Darrel who was charging something. Sakura felt the pain and it caused her to be immobile for a while; Darrel, whose face now looks maniacal, looked at Sakura as the next beam was fully charged.

"Say good-bye!" Darrel yelled as the beam was unleashed; the foreboding naval blue beam was approaching Sakura at extreme speed. Sakura's eyes widened in fear and she quickly braced herself when suddenly she heard someone else got hit and when she turned to check…

"Arthur!" Sakura yelled out, drenched in cold sweat and eyes as wide as dinner plates; she also felt something break within her mind; Arthur's body flew back and hit Sakura and was forced into a wall. Sakura quickly turned Arthur over so that she could see his face. "Wake up! Please wake up!" Sakura said repeatedly while slapping his face.

Aries, who had been watching in a corner, mustered all the strength she could and attacked Darrel with her own Leaf Blade and followed quickly with Energy Ball; Darrel got hit by both attacks and tumbled to the ground as Aries stood on him to pin him down. Crystal was starting to regain consciousness as everyone else arrived in the room.

"You... but how?" Darrel asked as Aries pinned him down. Aries gave a dark smile to him as earlier while Sakura was fighting Darrel; she munched down on several Oran Berries and Apples.

"It's over for you; you are going to jail where you belong!" Aries said triumphal; Darrel was still laughing at her. "What's so funny?"

"It is just funny that I am going to jail while your friends are locked up in Jube City prison." Darrel said and Aries's eye flared with anger as she threateningly held her tail, charged with energy, close to Darrel's neck. "Some friend you are, letting your friends get captured while you live on your own trying to clear your mind."

"It's ok, Aries," Mat said as he approached the two grass types. "He deserved what he got; now you can send him to jail." Mat passed his badge to Aries who promptly teleported Darrel to jail. Aries still had her hand rolled into fists and her teeth clenched; she immediately dashed off on her own. "Wait! We need to go after…"

"Wait, Mat! Help me with Arthur!" Sakura said as Mat was about to leave. Crystal came up and carried Arthur on her back and they quickly followed Aries. While they are moving, Arthur's eyes opened slightly; Sakura noticed and was relieved.

"Sakura… I have something to tell you…" Arthur said breathlessly, fighting to maintain his consciousness.

"Can't that wait?" Sakura asked urgently as they were on hot pursuit of Aries.

"No… it has waited too long and that's… what got us into this mess… Sakura, first of all, the pokemon I betrayed before was you…" Arthur confessed and Sakura felt heart-broken when she heard that as memories were coming back to her.

"We used to be… the closest of friends… it was me who… gave your life to royalty…" Tears were forming on Sakura's violet eyes as Arthur continued.

"And if that wasn't bad enough… now your memory is partly fragmented… Crystal told me about it."

_The conversation back at the cave near Dark Valley Clearing, the one that Sakura overheard partly, was the one that Arthur was referring to. Crystal had retained her memories doing all the horrible stuff and the spell that she casted on Sakura. The spell Crystal casted was meant to purge Sakura of darkness but that spell also had an unintentional side-effect: Sakura's happiest memories were all taken away and placed into the darker self while keeping those horrible memories. This effect was caused as Light attracts Darkness and Darkness attracts Light so Sakura's memory was now fragmented._

_The deal that Crystal had made with Master Polaris was that; giving Crystal some power to overcome the Raiders on Mt. Silver, she would deliver Sakura's darker side to him._

_Master Polaris was imprisoned due to his destructive aims and he needed Sakura's dark energy to fuel him and also provide a way to escape into the real world once again but the only way he could escape with full power was if two major magical powers clashed in his dimension. The clash would cause a rip in the dimension that he could use to escape and with the dark powers, form a new body for himself._

Arthur finished explaining and it reduced Sakura to tears as the older memories had returned to her. Sakura looked at weakened Arthur with swollen eyes but she smiled at him; they soon arrived at the prison and also reunited with Team Legend, the prisoners were heading out to face the Raiders with the Explorers; Sakura slapped him hard on his right cheek then gave him a smooch on the redden patch.

"The slap was for all the suffering I had to endure and the kiss… was for trying so hard to protect me. The past is the past… I don't hate you, I am just glad that you are honest with me." Sakura whispered to Arthur who then fainted, not before shredding a teardrop that landed on Sakura's right paw. Sakura let Arthur rest and she looked at Aries who was hugging her friends.

"You guys are alright! Can you ever forgive me for not trying hard enough to find you guys?" Aries cried into a Totodile's shoulder. The two others expressed their joys and thanks to Aries as they did not see her in a long time and for her effort in saving them. Team Legend, who freed all the prisoners, had led them all back out to fight the last remaining Raiders; Team Sapphire and Aries's Team: Team Life re-grouped together and decide on their plans.

"Well thanks a lot you guys…" Aries said, blushing in embarrassment. "You helped me when I needed it most and I am forever grateful." Her friends; Brian the Totodile and Grant the Cyndaquil were chuckling at Aries as she normally did not get so emotional with others. "Sakura, I really owe you a lot… you helped me against Darrel and you were the one who was there for me."

"It was nothing, I am just glad that you found your frien…" Sakura started but then Aries hugged her as a symbol of thanks. "Just don't forget that personality… it is what most pokemon need: a shoulder to cry on."

Team Life decided to go help out the Raiders and Team Sapphire chose to go back to Sun-Grove which was directly west of Jube City and so parted ways. Before they parted ways, Sakura took a group photo of everyone together for an everlasting memory; now she has a new photo to cherish forever.

Team Sapphire soon reached Sun Falls: the plains just on the Outskirts of Sun-Grove with a massive waterfall stemming from the top of Mt. Sun and they were taking a stop to relax and enjoy themselves as a side reward for completing their mission to explore the eastern lands. Sakura browsed through all the photos and smiled at each one of them then suddenly she noticed something: the first photo to include her friends had something strange going on; Arthur was slowly fading away from the photo. Sakura, at first, did not really notice but when she looked at it again… the opacity of Arthur in the photograph was clearly fading. Sakura convinced herself that it was just an ink problem and just closed the book. Sakura went to see Arthur and then just when her paw touches his forehead.

"Guys, we need to get Arthur to a hospital!" Sakura called out and the break ended as they made a mad dash to Sun-Grove.

Sakura was pacing nervously around outside the operating room as Arthur's parents: Samuel the Umbreon and Nicole the Espeon were sobbing silently. Katie the Skitty, Sakura's steward, came in.

"What happened? Can anyone tell me?" Katie said while she tries to catch her breath; Sakura, instead of telling her, she stayed her head onto Katie's shoulder as she slowly start to realize that Arthur was missing and linking the situation. "Did something… bad happen to Arthur?"

"It was all my fault! If I had taken Darrel out quickly, Arthur would not have risked his life to save me!" Sakura cried loudly, her tears spraying nearly everywhere and attracting attention. "And I could have…"

Someone placed a paw on Sakura's mouth, silencing her; Crystal stood up and stopped Sakura's confessions. She also had a vein of water flowing from her eyes down her cheeks.

"I am much to blame as you, Sakura: if I had paid more attention, I would have avoided being knocked out and could have stopped this from happening." Crystal said to Sakura and they shared an embrace. "But it's time we stopped blaming ourselves and pray for the best; Arthur would have wanted you to be happy."

Doctor Rita the Bayleef and Barry the Ivysaur came out of the operation room and everyone gathered and awaited their response with bated breath and hopeful eyes; Sakura, particularly, was staring them straight in their eyes with her tear-stained face.

"He is in no immediate danger… but," Rita started but then she looked at Crystal and Sakura. "Could everyone let me have a few words with Sakura and Crystal?" A lot of pokemon was very reluctant but soon left; Sakura and Crystal were looking at each other and started to notice "You need to see this for yourself…"

They proceeded into the darkened room where Arthur was laying on the bed, clearly unconsciousness. The medical equipment was going haywire and the heart-rate monitor was not responding at all; Sakura and Crystal could see a sinister purple vaporous substance being emitted from Arthur; Arthur's face was contorted due to some sort of discomfort he is experiencing. Rita and Barry were confounded at what to do next as they could not do anything else other than give him a diagnosis.

"As you can see, we cannot do anything but give him a check-up. He seems to be a having a nightmare or something while he is unconsciousness." Rita commented. Crystal's face turned pale but nobody detected it; Sakura was putting her paws on top of Arthur's and was looking at him tenderly. "Do you know anything about this?"

"The curse of the inversed…"


	26. Chapter 26

"The curse of the what?" Sakura asked Crystal whom was already looking at Arthur as if he was dead. "Is it… fatal?"

"It is one of the worst curses you could cast on someone and it requires a lot of energy to do so…" Crystal said to explain in a hopeless sort of voice. "Arthur's existence is now going to slowly fade away and his memory along with it… his oldest memories would fade first then when his memory is totally gone…" Crystal finished with a gulp down her throat; Sakura looked at Arthur and started to cry again.

Arthur slowly opened his eyes and let his eyes refocus on his surroundings; the shade of gray on the walls and the irregular shapes before him made almost no sense. Arthur saw an Eevee with a crown; a Glaceon with necklace; a Bayleef before him; he recognized Crystal and Rita but strangely, could not remember Sakura at all.

"Ouch my head hurts…" Arthur remarked as he kept some pressure on his temples and sat up slightly; he looked at Sakura who was beside him. "Who are you?" Sakura's eyes looked at him in shock and changed to disbelief in a gradual manner; Sakura rubbed her eyes to check whether it was a dream but it was not and she started to tear up again. "Hey! What's the matter? Why are you crying?"

Sakura could not bear to tell him anything and just left the room, sniffing; Arthur sat on the bed, feeling extremely guilty for making Sakura cry for some reason. Sakura waited outside of the hospital; everyone was questioning her about Arthur, she merely told them he was awake and nothing more. Katie stayed with Sakura but remained silent the whole time she was keeping her company; Sakura was looking at the livid green leaves that had fallen due to the wind and her tears were dripping down along with them.

_I can't believe it… he is going to disappear forever. When I finally remember him too… why am I so cursed with all this abnormality? Even if it means giving up my mystic powers forever, I will get him back somehow… Arthur, please hold on; I will find a way. _

Sakura just snapped out of idleness and bumped her head into something hard.

"Ouch, do you normally head-butt me when I approach you?" someone asked and Sakura was rubbing her forehead painfully; when she looked up, Arthur was standing in front of him. "Are you hurt? Here let me make it better." To Sakura's surprise, Arthur kissed her forehead which caused her

to back off, flustered. "Sorry, your forehead is so big and too tempting that it was wearing a 'kiss me' sign."

"Why did you do that?" Sakura asked with her face as red as a rose. "Do you remember me?"

"All I know is from what Crystal told me, that I was your boyfriend and…" Arthur said and Sakura's eyes widened. "But honestly, I don't feel that attached to you…" There was a crack; it was so soft that no pokemon could hear but its impact was huge: Sakura felt her heart crack and now she was overcame with sorrow; she slapped Arthur right in his face and ran into the hospital.

"You know, whatever your problem is, I don't think that hospital can heal! Try something like a mental institute or…" Arthur remarked and Katie silenced him with her paw.

"You silly… telling a girl that you have no feelings for her when you originally had... and even sacrificed a lot for it."

Sakura ran right up to Crystal and looked at her with her swollen eyes. Crystal could see that Arthur must have done something wrong and upset Sakura a lot; she first try to calm Sakura down before letting her speak.

"What's the cure for this curse...? Tell me!" Sakura demanded as she looked at Crystal with the direst look she ever made. "I don't care what it takes, I want Arthur back… the old Arthur back!"

"Calm down Sakura!" Crystal said, trying to let Sakura control herself; the whole ordeal was already very painful for her.

"Tell me…" Sakura said before she lost her consciousness and her body fell like a rag doll.

_Please… please… tell me how… I can save him… save him from disappearing; from completely forgetting everyone he ever knew and loved. _

Crystal caught onto Sakura as she fainted; they all decided to go to the castle and let Sakura rest in her sanctuary of nature while they did a little research using the magic archives available in Sun-Grove Castle. Arthur, who was completely clueless, started flirting with the girls on Team Sapphire.

"Have anyone ever told you how nice you smell?" Arthur commented to Jasmine; she merely rolled her eyes and ignored him. "That's rude…" Jasmine muttered something but nobody could hear and it was better left unsaid.

"There is really no known cure…! Every pokemon that got hit by this curse just perished after a while…!" Crystal screamed in anger as she slammed her head on the table. "And we are going to have to endure Arthur acting like a total player…! Sakura is so heartbroken already and her boyfriend cannot appreciate her…!"

Everyone looked at Crystal who was venting her anger and disappointment in the form of ranting the obvious; she did not even feel better after that. Sakura burst through the doors into the archives and she was holding onto a book with her eyes glistening.

"When did you wake up, sleeping beauty?" Arthur started. "If only they let me…"

"Just clam it, Arthur!" Jake yelled and covered Arthur's mouth with his paw. Crystal took a gander at the book that Sakura brought and began reading it aloud.

_The study of curses was perfected by Master Polaris but when he was banished into another dimension; his findings and studies were all locked and sealed in the high security archives of Shadowvile. This record is only opened to mystics of the highest standing and who would not use the power for their own personal gain. _

"No wonder we could not find any information on the Curse of Inversed, it was all kept in Shadowvile." Crystal beamed with delight as she was presented with the new data. "Shadowvile is just due west of Darkwood Village but we need to stop in somewhere called Haunting Port, originally called Moon Port, in Moonlight Fortress."

"We need to get going right now and look at this photo…" Sakura explained as she held up a photo that Arthur had taken for her and the whole picture was losing opacity slowly. "The clarity of this picture is very strange…" Crystal then got struck with an understanding.

"That's it! Those fading photos are representing fading memories for Arthur. The more photos that lose its opacity mean the more memory is being wiped." Crystal said as Sakura held up a few others where Arthur or the photo was completely missing. "We are really running out of time! Everyone prepare whatever you would need and meet at Sun Port in less than an hour."

The quick briefing was followed by a mad rush to prepare for their next adventure; Katie was sent to Sun-Port to book a ship to Moon Port; Mat was personally appointed as Arthur's buddy so that he does not do anything that he might regret and Crystal was keeping watch over Sakura. They mostly proceeded to the Castle's Storage and restocked on their berries, items and equipment. The Ruler of Sun-Grove, King Cedric, came in on them as they were supplying themselves.

"Sakura, my beloved girl, did you get my letter?" Sakura's father said in his most royal voice and Sakura looked at him as if he was a nagger. "I see you gotten the Power Of The Sun back from those strange beings."

Almost everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard that they got something called 'the power of the sun', especially Sakura. They all turned to inspect Sakura and then another light bulb went off in Crystal's head.

"Oh…! That's why Sakura seems all normal after she was purged off all darkness in her heart. The power made her whole again!" Crystal ranted on after hitting eureka moment. "If it wasn't for that power, Sakura would be lost and down!"

Sakura glared at Crystal, wanting her to explain further on the jargon that she just spewed; Sakura felt someone patting her gently on her shoulders. She turned around to see her father, trying to be fatherly towards her. Sakura just sighed and placed the bag of berries that she had just refilled into her bag; she took the chance to check out some photos and some of the ones picturing her debut with Arthur's sister, Cynthia, were starting to fade.

"We are running out of time… we must go, dad…" Sakura said and King Cedric looked her tenderly. "Don't worry I will be careful… and no rough-housing with anyone else…"

"It's not that… you just remind me so much of your mother," Sakura's father sniffled softly. "She was brave and kind like you…, you both share the same violet eyes but you inherited my fur color when I was your age. Just remember, Sakura, the southern region was where your mother was born so you might meet others that know her."

"I understand… Mom would have been proud," Sakura whispered softly back and soon they left Sun-Grove Castle and went to Sun-Port. King Cedric then bent down closer to Sakura's ear before they left and whispered something that caused Sakura to repeat it out loud in surprise. "**I have a sibling?**"

Sun-Port was only recently reopened after a renovation; the place now has more facilities and a more organized ferry service. The next ferry to Moon-Port would be starting to take passengers in about an hour; Team Sapphire had already made a reservation for the best spots due to Sakura's popularity as a princess. Katie bid her farewells to Sakura and her friends before returning back to the Castle. Sakura was still in shock after learning that she might have a younger sister somewhere in the world; the questions that she was being asked were not helping her.

"When did you have a younger sibling? How old is he now?" Jasmine asked continually and Sakura just repeated what she said several times.

"I really don't know anything about him; even his gender I don't know, it could be a she even…; not only that I have no idea how old he or she is… my Dad said that he was visiting the hospital just now and your parents just mentioned something about an egg that also came from my mother…"

"I wonder if she's cute…" Arthur muttered but everyone could hear him clearly. "Provided that it's a she, of course…"

"Ignore him, Sakura; he just does not know what he is talking about." Crystal remarked to Sakura as Mat went and spoke to Arthur about thinking before he speaks.

"I don't even know his or her name either… I doubt that he or she has one yet, my father said that it's still an egg somewhere."

"Come on Sakura, we can board now; all three of us: you, I and Crystal are sharing one room together and I heard it very high-class." Jasmine said as she led the way into the ferry. The ferry could be mistaken as a fancy yacht as it was massive compared to normal ferries; the rooms were top notched and the setting was exclusively themed.

Sakura immediately went to her bed and was reading the books that she bought for more information about the Southern region; they were going to be just visiting the upper north of the southern region which only includes three towns: Shadowvile, Darkwood Village and Moonlight Fortress. Sakura made the necessary adjustments to her Map and it now shows the three towns based on the data from the book.

There was nothing in the starry sky that hinted any sign of what Team Sapphire would be encountering; Sakura went star-gazing on the deck, trying to relive the old memories that she retained.

_I do not remember everything just perhaps the darkest memories… but they are what made me who I am today. _

The next morning, Arthur went out on the deck only to find Sakura sleeping there with a small pad with a pencil secured by a string to the pad's bindings. Arthur's head felt some pain as he looked at Sakura's petite figure.

_Why do I feel like just sitting by her side and watch her as she sleep? It just does not make sense, I hardly know her… _

Arthur's face reddened as he thought and Sakura was waking up due to the sun beaming on her face; Arthur panicked and quickly hid into the storage room for cleaning supplies, using a small gap for peeking.

"Wow I must have dozed off…" Sakura muttered to herself. "Oh yeah…" Sakura flipped open her pad and Arthur was trying to get a glimpse on what was inside; to his astonishment, Sakura started to sketch something. Suddenly, Sakura stopped and then she strangely crumpled the paper she was drawing on and drew it away; she slowly got up and walked towards the staircase back to her room. Arthur slipped out of his hiding spot and then slowly followed Sakura.

The ferry could see land in the horizon and the site of Team Sapphire's next adventure.


	27. Chapter 27

At breakfast, Sakura once again sat alone and munched her roasted berries in silence. Her batch of food was specially cooked to avoid usage of Charm Berries which were widely used as a cooking ingredient. Arthur looked suspiciously at Sakura while he was chewing a pokebread.

"Is that girl always picky about what she eats?" Arthur whispered to Jake who seemed to be dubbed by Arthur as his 'blood brother'.

"She is simply allergic…" Jake started but stopped when Arthur choked slightly on his pokebread. Arthur then quickly glanced at Sakura who had just finished an Oran Berry and was starting on a stew that she ladled from a pot on the table.

"Oh… you should have told me that a little earlier," Arthur muttered softly and Jake then realized what he did: Sakura starting to sneeze uncontrollably and she felt light-headed.

Crystal was the first to approach Sakura to pass her some medicine. Sakura normally turns into a fearsome beast whenever she eats Charm Berries but since Crystal, under the influence of the master of magic, extracted Sakura's dark side, Sakura had never been the same since.

"That's strange but I think it's another side-effect…" Sakura whispered at first but Crystal placed a comforting paw on her shoulder and replied her.

"It is because I released the beast within you and now your reaction is normal."

"I still feel a little light-headed; I think I will go have a lie down." Sakura finished and she made her way back to her cabin. When Sakura had left the room, all heads shot to Arthur's direction; faking a stomach pain, Arthur quickly left the room before he got told off.

Sakura was still dizzy and was trotting clumsily along the corridor; Arthur was just walking and just caught sight of her. Suddenly the boat shook rather violently due to a wave; Sakura lost her balance and fell down and could not get up, Arthur managed to grab hold of something then proceed to Sakura.

"Hey wake up!" Arthur said impatiently. "That can't have killed you…"

_Arthur… Arthur… please don't leave me, I did my best to save you… no, come back, please don't leave me, I don't want to be alone…_

Arthur backed away stunned, surprised that Sakura was somehow talking in her sleep; Sakura went back to her silent snores but Arthur was still dumbfounded as he picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. Sakura suddenly moved and gave Arthur a tender hug and caused him to topple sideways; Arthur was rendered immobile due to the embrace.

"Arthur… what's with you and landing on me…," Sakura whispered as she felt the thud on her side, still not releasing Arthur. Every word that Sakura had uttered in her sleep was familiar to Arthur in a unique way but he simply just cannot remember. Arthur reached for Sakura's bag and retrieved her photo album and spent the time glancing through each photograph taken.

After what seemed like a short time for the both of them, Crystal and Jasmine walked into the corridor and saw them. At first, they were a little flabbergasted at what they saw but then Crystal saw Sakura asleep and soon figured out what occurred. Sakura was already waking up and when she finally came to her senses; she immediately backed away into a corner, reddening at hugging Arthur in her sleep.

"About time you woke up..." Arthur commented in a sigh and walked off with the album with him; Sakura was too embarrassed to notice as Crystal and Jasmine escorted her back to the cabin. The ferry was approaching Moon-Port thus Team Sapphire had to get ready.

Haunting Port and Moon Port are two names for the same place for a good reason: after a terrible civil war that took place several years ago and ended just recently, there were already numerous battles at the port that caused many pokemon to their deaths and the bodies were believed to be left to rot under the docks; rumors of very restless spirits that 'violently' haunts the port were the responses to a series of unexplained events to the pokemon living near the port.

Team Sapphire got off the ferry and were walking on an unknown path; Sakura was rather flustered due to what happened earlier but some of her father's words still rang through her head.

_In the southern region, some pokemon may recognize you as they knew your mother, Hikari. And I just received word that you may have a sibling as there was an egg that went missing._

They entered an ice-cream parlor that seems almost deserted; there was a Charmeleon wiping the counter top. Oliver wiped his eyes thinking he was dreaming.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Oliver asked in surprise; Oliver's dad was a mail-pokemon before but now he is working at an ice-cream parlor in the southern region.

"Oh Oliver! How nice to see you and your little friends," Oliver's dad replied cheerfully. "It has always been my secret ambition to run an ice-cream parlor so after I earned enough as a mail-pokemon, I bought this place for a cheap price but I don't mind."

Oliver was rendered speechless by his dad; the rest of the team came in and sat down at a table. Oliver volunteered to go buy whatever they wanted; they decided on a couple of Oran Berry ice-cream with Rindo Berries as decoration. As they ate their ice-cream, Oliver's dad looked at Sakura in deep thought.

"You know, Sakura, you look a lot like some Espeon I saw last time when I was here and checking the premises." Oliver's dad commented as Sakura ate a mouthful of ice-cream and looked at him while she was still savoring it. "I mean she was kind enough to help me lease the place until I could get enough Poke to buy it."

"What was her name?" Sakura asked suddenly, cutting off Oliver's dad's ongoing compliments.

"She's… oh here she comes now."

A group of pokemon walked into shop and one of them shouted 'The Usual please, Kingsley.'

"Coming up!" Oliver's dad responded as a group of Eevolutions (roughly Crystal and Mat's age) came in; Sakura's ears dropped and she sank back into the ice cream in silence. Arthur stared at the new group and then struck with a question.

"Hey Crystal…" Arthur started; Mat looked at him with a hint of unpleasantness in his eyes.

"If you flirt with my… you are going to get it hard…" Mat muttered warningly; Arthur gulped in fear but still manages to ask his question.

"When do we evolve?" Arthur asked and it attracted the undivided attention of the rest, including Sakura. Crystal began to ponder at the question; it was one of the great mysteries of pokemon.

"Well, evolution is a strange topic as no pokemon had really figured out what causes it. I believe it is different depending on the pokemon, I can't really be sure." Crystal talked, sparking a debate about evolution. Another group of pokemon entered the shop without Team Sapphire noticing.

Sakura was listening on the subject that they were discussing when a pokemon embraced her heartily. A pair of paws covered Sakura's eyes and was laughing away.

"Guess who!" the voice said from behind Sakura. Sakura smiled and calmly replied.

"Eve, is that you?"

The pair of paws removed themselves and Sakura turned to see an Eevee staring at her. The group that just came in was Team Pokelife, Team Sapphire's newly made friends from before. They are a Platinum level (slightly better than Gold level) exploration group and consisted of three main members and three junior members. Eve, along with her two siblings, made up the junior team and her mother, Melody the Glaceon, and her father, Kyle the Umbreon, and also Leo the Pikachu made up the main members. Team Pokelife were honored with being one of the best teams as they had saved the world several times. Melody and Kyle became a couple and took time off exploring to take of their three Eevee children: Eve, Chloe and Ken; Leo basically went alone and explored several places and occasionally visits and brings presents. Now they all came as a team to explore the southern region.

"Hello Sakura! Long time no see! Didn't knew we were coming, were you?" Eve said happily, hopping around as she does so and attracting everyone's attention, especially the other group of Eevolutions. "Wow there is a lot of Eevees in here…"

"Eve! Where are you, sweetie?" Melody called from the doorway. Eve left Sakura immediate and obediently ran back to Melody. "There you are! Found some old friends?"

Some random explosion occurred outside and Melody just rolled her eyes at the sound behind her.

"Yeah! There is Team Sapphire, champions of Whirlpool Island, I just surprised Sakura!" Eve started, Melody noted the words 'Team Sapphire' and 'Sakura' before she whispered something to Eve and left to sort out the trouble outside. Eve ran up to the counter and ordered some ice cream before she went to a table near Team Sapphire.

Oliver accidently 'blew' some flames and melted half of his ice cream. Before he could ask for assistance, Eve snuck up behind him and 'blew' into his ice cream bringing it back to normal.

"Oh thank you, Eve, your Icicle Expression Trait sure is useful." Oliver commented and went back to eating his ice cream; Icicle Expression is an unique trait that Eve has that grants her the ability to use Ice Attacks; Eve went back to the ground and walked around to Sakura and nuzzled her.

"Oh hello again, Eve," Sakura responded. "What are you guys doing in the Southern region?"

"Mommy says that it would be a good place to get back into the routine of Exploring and also visit Grandma's grave."

"Oh I see; I came here to well…" Sakura said softly, slowly looking at Arthur.

"Have he asked you yet?" Eve asked innocently and Sakura's face blushed. "Asked you to be his…"

Before Eve could finish, Sakura quickly muffled her voice by covering her mouth with her paw. Melody came back in with the rest of the team while biting onto Ken's scruff; Chloe and Kyle trotted in behind her; Chloe looked like she was slightly traumatized and her fur also messy and charred a little.

"But Mom…" Ken tried to say but his father got to him first.

"Ken, you are grounded and that's final! I cannot believe you thought exploding a compound of Charm flower pollen and Sizzle seed powder is funny!" Kyle reprimanded sternly.

Sizzle seeds came from Sizzle berries and they are mostly classified as a grade C banned substance as it was highly explosive. Sizzle Berries can be confused with Sitrus berries due to the similar color and shape and they can be found only in the southern regions of the world. Ken managed to find some outside and decided to do an experiment.

"Oh my… Chloe, are you… Ah Choo!" Sakura sneezed half way through her sentence due to the pollen of Charm Berries. Sakura kept sneezing so she buried her face into tissues that she quickly whipped out of her bag. Chloe was carelessly brushing herself near Sakura, causing even more sneezing and even dizziness.

Lucky for Sakura, Team PokeLife's ice cream arrived and Chloe and Eve departed from her side and ending the spray of pollen. Sakura hurriedly rushed outside to gain some fresh air, abandoning her ice cream to be stuffed down by Arthur.

Sakura found a watering hole and used the water to wash herself. Her Ear Wrap slipped off and rolled on the ground; Sakura chased after it like a cat after a ball of yarn. Whilst she was chasing it, it came to a sudden halt at the feet of another pokemon who picked it up.

"The One who controls the power…," the stranger spoke with his face hidden under the shadow of his hood. "However, your destiny does not connect with it… someone else, closely related…"

Sakura does not understand what the stranger meant but he did not give back her Ear Wrap. Sakura began to ask him kindly, hoping to avoid trouble.

"Listen closely: as long as you wield the power, darkness will seek to consume you. There's another whose destiny requires what you have now; find yourself and return the power to its sanctuary while it waits for its true master…" the tone of the voice was strong and firm; he returned the Ear Wrap after his strange string of words. Sakura suddenly became very suspicious as she placed the Ear Wrap back on her right ear.

The hooded pokemon noticed and began to make a run for it; Sakura gave chase right after him. The pokemon was alarmingly fast, making sharp turns at every chance to escape Sakura's line of sight. Sakura's agility was not to be tested: she managed to be in hot pursuit of the mysterious pokemon. Soon she chased the pokemon into a dead end.

The mysterious pokemon leapt upwards; Sakura aimed a Shadow Ball attack and sent it flying through the air. There was an explosion and then Sakura saw a counter attack flying at her only for a fraction of a second. The attack scores a direct hit and Sakura dug her paws into the earth as she was pushed backwards. Her attack unmasked the pokemon she had been chasing: a Lucario.

The Lucario had worn a navy blue poncho and was carrying a small satchel; his eyes glowed in yellow and his fur was a regular sky blue with jet black. He was now holding a particular sword and holding it threatening close to Sakura's neck. Sakura knew she had lost the engagement and was now glaring back at the Lucario.

"Strange… I thought someone of your magnitude would be more of a challenge." Lucario muttered in disappointment, peering at Sakura; Lucario soon noticed two things dangling around Sakura's neck. Very accurately and swiftly, Lucario lifted both off Sakura's neck and inspected them while they were still around the sword's handle.

"Hey! Give those back!" Sakura shouted but she halted as there an Aura Sphere pointed at her.

"This key… from your mother, am I not mistaken?" Lucario asked while looking at the key. Sakura bit her lip as anything related to her mother was a closed subject but still nodded. "How clever of her… so she separated the responsibilities between the two of you."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked as she could not understand what Lucario saying was. Lucario then inspected the second object which looks like a sea-shell pendant; he opened it up gently and saw what was inside and closed it almost immediately.

"I can see that you have someone who is precious to you… never let him go," Lucario said before he shot his attack down and created a cloud of dust.

When the cloud cleared, Sakura was standing by herself; her two necklaces lay on the ground for her and the Lucario disappeared from her view. Somewhere in another corner of town, Lucario pulled up his hood and muttered his final words before departing.

_The One who controls the Power and the One who wields the key; their powers combined are only part of a great destiny. Although separated but bound by fate; their choices and action will affect the world they know. Feelings of darkness will try to overcome their ever-lasting personalities; there comes a time where they have to trust their instincts and do what they believe is right._


	28. Chapter 28

When Sakura took a small step, she accidentally slipped and some of her stuff rolled out of her bag. As she scrambled to get them, she picked up her two necklaces. Sakura still felt giddy from before and was having difficulty heading back.

"Someone closely related? Some sort of Power? What was that mysterious talk for?" Sakura asked, still frustrated that she had been defeated. Sakura had been chasing a Lucario who was carrying around a strange looking sword and now she was told a few things that she does not understand. "Closely related to me… could he have meant my sibling?"

Sakura shook her head in response to herself as she just simply cannot believe it; she still had trouble grasping the concept that she has a younger sibling.

She walked in through the door and before she could reach her friends; she was approached by a Flareon from another group of Eevolution eating at the Ice Cream Parlor. He offered a seed to Sakura whom took it at once without a second thought, it cured her dizziness immediately.

"Do you just accept anything someone gives you?" Flareon asked, apparently appalled. Sakura smiled and replied.

"I recognized a Heal Seed anywhere."

"So you are an explorer? From where?" Flareon further inquired. When Sakura said her hometown of Sun-Grove's name, the reaction was somewhat suspicious: Flareon took a step back and his eyes suddenly moving rapidly to inspect every aspect of Sakura.

"Something wrong?" Sakura asked after noticing the shock on Flareon's face. Before she knew it, Flareon had rested his paws on Sakura and stared straight into her eyes.

"What was your mother's name?" Flareon whispered, trying to force the truth by maintaining eye contact with Sakura. Sakura did not feel comfortable with the intense stare and the even more confusing question about her parents.

"Her name was Hikari, former queen of Sun-Grove…" Sakura started but then the name startled the whole group of Eevolutions. Flareon picked her up and his look changed from shock to disgust.

"So how is she?" Flareon asked, clearly suppressing hatred within. Sakura felt that she should find out what happened before telling him about her mother's death.

"Did my Mom do something to upset you?" Sakura asked timidly. Flareon swallowed whatever anger he had shown and offered Sakura a place at the table of his friends.

_Hikari, when she was an Eevee, lived the country life. She always loved to roam outdoors and explore new places. However, it was an obsession for her; the farmlands outside Moon Fortress in the past was simply too small for her liking. One day, she was going about her usual routine of exploring; she encountered a group of pokemon and then she went back home and left the day after without another word to another pokemon._

"I liked her… and still no letters home for me; no sort of hint or even a recognition for the Flareon that had been her best friend." Flareon said in anger; Sakura could barely believe her ears to what she was told and she left the parlor without her friends.

Crystal and Mat took it on themselves to find out what caused Sakura to run away in tears; Arthur, Oliver, Jasmine and Jake all split up looked for Sakura. Unlucky, the poor searchers did not find a single lead. The Flareon from before told Crystal and Mat the same thing; Crystal and Mat were surprised at the information as well and also rushed off to find Sakura.

The more Sakura runs, the more uncertain of she was. The lush forest that Sakura had retreated into provided Sakura a place to stop and clear her mind. A lonely boulder under a tree was where Sakura sat and thought it through.

"What's the matter, little sweet-heart?" some pokemon asked from behind. Sakura turned around until her teary eyes were looking at an Espeon. The Espeon looked elder and wise with only some wrinkles at the face. She laid a comforting paw on Sakura's head and gently stroked her fur. "Care to share, my dear?"

Sakura rubbed her eyes and held in her emotions like she had done several times before.

"It's ok. The truth hurts sometimes," Sakura muttered softly and the Espeon looked her tenderly.

"Come with me… you will feel better but it's your choice to trust me." The Espeon said and turn to depart; Sakura, having nowhere else to go and a lot on her mind, chose to follow.

The Espeon led her to a house; it seemed nothing out of the ordinary from a farm-side house: double decked and have a large free land surrounding it. Sakura strangely felt that this was what she wanted… what she would call as home. Sakura took out her camera again and took some pictures; Espeon merely smiled at the childish behavior.

"You remind me a lot of my little girl; she grew up to be a fine Espeon… so brave and humble. Even though she had gotten into trouble several times; by exploring places that she shouldn't and such, it was her nature and it could not be helped." Sakura's eyes widened as the elder pokemon went on about her daughter.

"Please ma, am, can you tell me more about her?" Sakura asked hopefully as the girl mentioned was similar to her mother, Hikari. Her eyes grew in size as her anticipation grew as well.

"Hmm… Come with me, child. There is something I want you to see. And please call me, Mori." The Espeon said as they entered the house. Mori took Sakura through the living room, well furnished with a sofa, clock, rug and coffee table; then took her upstairs to one of the rooms that were cleaned almost every day as there was a lack of dust gathering. Sakura's first attention was drawn to a bouquet of cherrim flowers that resembled the shape of her key. Lying on the bed was a dress that made Sakura's eye shine; it was basically a light blue tunic with a pleated skirt with a white shirt folded neatly inside. The room had one bed and opposite it was a table with a mounted mirror and a wardrobe; a huge window, semi-opened, at the side of the room and it overlooks the farmland and some of the forest and a river.

"This is really beautiful," Sakura slowly said in awe. _How I wished my room back in palace was little more like this…_

"Would you like to try the dress on?" Mori said softly. Sakura was a little worried as the owner might not appreciate it. "It's alright, I am sure my daughter would not mind." Before Sakura knew it, she went somewhere and changed into the dress and also worn a sun hat with a pink flower.

"This dress is… really lovely," Sakura commented but she felt Mori crying slightly when she saw Sakura in the dress. "Is there something wrong?"

"You look so much like her… Hikari, she was so much like you or… should I say you are so much like her." Mori said and surprised Sakura. "You both always run into the forest when you're upset and you always savor the simplest things in life. And the splitting image you have…"

"Wait… are you saying you are my grandmother?" Sakura asked clearly, hardly believing anything anymore after being twisted around by fate. The confusion was already getting to her and was overwhelming her, clouding her mind then her vision and before she knew it, she passed out.

Meanwhile, Team Sapphire and Team Pokelife (after they finished with their ice-cream) were searching all of the outskirts of Moon Fortress for Sakura who seemed to have disappeared without a trace. Oliver and Jasmine searched the docks again; Jake and Arthur looked around some of the nearby buildings; Crystal and Mat searched around the farmlands; Melody and Kyle looked around in the forests with Ken with them while leaving Eve and Chloe to look nearer to Moon Fortress.

Jake and Arthur asked several pokemon living nearby but came out empty-handed so far; Oliver and Jasmine almost immediately came into a dead end with their search; Crystal and Mat encountered and helped some local pokemon farmers and Team Pokelife moved into Moon Fortress to further their search.

"This is not getting us anywhere without you helping!" Jake exploded at Arthur who was lazing around while he was questioning. "Look why don't you go that way and ask while I continue down this road."

Arthur looked down the other road then back on the current one and in his mind, compared the amount of work required.

"How about you go the other road, I will just continue here." Arthur bargained; Jake, frustrated by having to do most of the work on his own and standing under a blazing sun. Jake just scowled at Arthur and went down the other road. Arthur diligently carries out what he had been asked to do. Arthur soon came up to another farm house and knocked on the door.

After a short wait, the door slowly flung open and Mori the elderly Espeon was at the doorway.

"Excuse me, have you seen an Eevee who is around my height and age…" Arthur started to describe but Mori seemed to understand the situation. She simply smiled and returned indoor but leaving the door opened. "So did you see her or have you not?"

Arthur was dumbfounded as he slowly went into the house to search for Sakura; Mori seemed to be giving him hints by simply walking upstairs. Arthur took the lead and followed Mori into a room.

Within the room, Sakura lies asleep on the soft bed. Arthur's eyes saw Sakura's tear-stained face and felt empathy for her after what he heard from Crystal and Mat explaining everything to him.

After looking at Sakura for a while, Mori smirked and softly asked.

"You like her, don't you young pokemon?"

Arthur blushed instantly but laughed awkwardly instead of showing his face to Mori who was looking at his back.

"Me? Liking this Eevee for causing trouble? No way!" Arthur replied; Mori then turned him around so that she could see his eyes.

"You are such a terrible liar, your eyes just can't lie like you," Mori said in a motherly sort of voice that compelled Arthur to listen her. "As a grandmother, I know very well when someone is lying. And I now have something to pass to you."

Mori went to the drawer and pulled out a small box; she opened it slightly to show Arthur what was inside and then quickly closing it. Arthur accepted the box after looking at what's inside but the look on his face was more of shock than delight.

Sakura, when Arthur and Mori were whispering about the box, woke up but the whisperings made her keep her eyes shut.

"You pass this to that pretty girlfriend of yours." Mori said and gave a wink to Arthur who responded with a stutter.

"But… I…"Arthur started, unable to find a suitable continuation.

"I am sure that Maria, the one you mentioned earlier, would be very happy." Mori said and left the room immediately.

_Maria? Who is she… when did Arthur even met her? Could it be... he was just toying with me since the beginning? Why? I don't believe it… I had feelings for him… could it be that it was never true and we were never meant to be. I don't know any more._

Unknown to Sakura, the overwhelming surge of emotion had triggered a magical reaction. Arthur felt the floor getting hotter and even scalding his paws; the wind from the window picked up in speed and started send leaves into the room. Sakura decided to get up and get away from Arthur as possible.

"Ugh… where am I? Sakura said as she got up and then she realized she was still wearing the dress that Mori let her try on. "Oh… hello Arthur, where's Mori?"

Arthur noticed a hint of resentfulness from Sakura's voice and was struck suspicious.

"Downstairs, but did you happen to overhear anything?" Arthur asked with a cautious tone. This was their first time staring straight into each other's eyes and each holding a sort of unhappiness towards the other party. The floor cooled down quickly but it now feels almost frozen.

"I have no idea what you are accusing me of but…" Sakura said then the floor returned to normal. "Since you have this Maria… I think I should stop chasing the impossible; I want to change, get out now if you don't mind."

Arthur was at a loss for words: Maria was a lie that he had told to Mori so that he does not have to be honest about how he feels about Sakura but instead, Sakura overheard and took it for real.

"But Sakura, Maria is…" Arthur started but then before he knew it, he was pushed out of the room as if there was an invisible punching glove forcing him out. "Not real…" he finished once the door closed on him.

Arthur left the farmhouse first to tell the other members where she was with a guilty conscious. Meanwhile, Sakura was sitting on the bed; changed out of her dress and was silently sobbing to herself. _Sometimes things are just never meant to be; just like Arthur and I are torn apart… again._


	29. Chapter 29

Arthur found Jake, Jasmine and Oliver and told them that he found Sakura but he covertly left out the part where his lie caused a big rift. Jasmine and Oliver went to fetch Sakura while Jake and Arthur looked for Crystal and Mat.

Meanwhile, Sakura had changed out of the dress that she was wearing and was slowly munching on some cookies that Mori the elder Espeon brought in for her. Sakura had several questions to ask but decided to only answer some.

"Please sweetie, if you ask me so much, I cannot answer them all." Mori said cheerfully. "Your mother, Hikari, made her own decisions and stuck to them. Mind you, she did get into quite a bit of trouble but she always tries to fix them… well there's one that she had not fixed and never will."

_It started somewhere twenty years ago, when Hikari was still an Eevee; it was a fine sunny day, I had a visit from a sweet young Eevee by the name of George. He knocked on my door asking for an engagement between Hikari and him; he needs my approval as well as Hikari's so he decided to come alone. George and Hikari were childhood friends and neighbors, both were almost never seen without the other; they met regularly to simply hang out together. When George came to propose, things got chaotic very quickly: Hikari was not in the house and George was not willing to go back home without a reply._

_Hikari, what she told me, was out on the field by herself tending to some of her favorite plants when she heard the sound of a distant explosion. She stealthily sneaked into the forest that had been out of bounds to most pokemon except exploration teams. She moved through the bushes only to find herself looking at a battle between two pokemon; a riolu and a charmander. The two of them were using strange looking swords to duel instead of regular attacks that pokemon normally use. She would not tell me the rest of what happened but she was clearly determined about something: leaving the southern region._

_When she got back from her little adventure, it was very late into the night__ and raining__. George was still patiently waiting in the living room for Hikari, when she returned home; he leapt out of his seat to hug her. Hikari smiled weakly at him and when George told her the news… Hikari refused at once but would not say the reason behind it.__ There was a huge argument between the two of them; Hikari tried to reason with George that she had her reasons but George yelled at how she betrayed their promise and ran off into the cold, wet night. Hikari then shared with me about a promise that they made so long ago when they are younger; they promised to be there for each other and always stick together no matter what. Hikari cried herself to sleep that night but was strangely still determined to continue what she initially had in mind._

_Come the next day, after answering to many relatives and friends of George, I helped Hikari sneak away and got onto a ferry headed north; I do not know much about the north region as I had lived on the south my whole life. Hikari left me a box asking me to keep it safe for her when she gets back; I kept that promise to her… even now. She often times just writes letters back home and even some were addressed to George but she never got a reply back at all. And most strangest of all, she kept reminding me that she would call her first born, Sakura._

"Well that's basically a short tale on why some of the Pokémon living at the countryside dislike you," Mori ended and Sakura's curiosity got the better of her and she asked about the box. "When I got the news that she passed, I took another look at the box that she left me; she forgot to leave the key behind with the box when she left in a hurry."

The word 'key' made Sakura instinctively reach under her fur coat and check whether the key that her mother left for her was still hanging around her neck; it was. Feeling that she would be able to trust Mori, her own grandmother, she took out her key and showed it to her.

"That's… where did you get this child, I heard that she passed right after giving birth." Mori queried as she saw the familiar key. Sakura recalled the day she received the key from Alice the Glaceon, her former teacher at the daycare centre where she grew up before finding out she was a princess… and how much she missed Arthur and all the times they spent together.

"My former teacher, Alice, passed it to me." Sakura replied softly. Mori smiled as she went out and returned shortly with a folder; inside the folder contained all of Hikari's letters back home and drafts of the letters sent to George. Sakura's eyes brightened and hiding most of her previous tear-stained and heart-broken self; there were pictures of her mother within the letters as well. "Are these really…?"

"Pictures of your mother? Yes, they are as real as pie." Mori answered with a wink as Sakura engrossed herself on the photos. Sakura smiled tenderly like she had not done in a very long time, given the circumstances. Sakura shyly asked if she could keep a copy of the photos. "A copy? They all are as good as yours, my sweet grandchild."

Sakura opened up her bag and took out blank photos then closed her eyes; focusing her mind on every detail of the photograph she had seen. The blank photos gave a bright flash then were covered in a sphere of darkness; the ball of dark slowly dissipated. The photos slowly started to become clearer as if it was freshly taken from a camera.

"What was that?" Mori questioned in surprise, Sakura slowly told her about her powers and what she did to the photos. Sakura slid the new photos into her album before her eyes saw the photos containing Arthur were decolorizing already; Mori had reached into the drawer again when Sakura was panicking slightly over the time left. Mori took out a small box and was wearing a broad smile on her face.

"Is this the…" Sakura started but she did not have the chance to finish the sentence; Mori started to explain what she discovered.

_Hikari was a clever Eevee in the past, I could not believe that she would plan so far ahead of time. When Hikari left, she must have known that she would not be coming back at all; when she left me the box, she purposely took along the key and passed it to a Pokémon whom she knew would pass to her first born. That's why she always reminded me in her letters about her first-born's name so that when her first-born child eventually visits the southern region to explore, I would meet her and also obtain the key for the box._

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, for half a second, she almost thought Mori had gone senile on her and babbled nonsense but it all fits like a great jig-saw puzzle. Whatever was in the box was locked away with Sakura's key that was intentionally taken in the first place so that it would find its way back to Mori.

"That silly girl, I told her before that the future is very unpredictable and should not risk everything on one key that may wind up lost." Mori said in joy as Sakura took the box and pulled out her key. As the key turned and the lock became undone, Sakura held her breath and opened the lid of the elegantly designed box; there were only three things inside the box: an envelope, a bouquet of White Cherrim flowers that was starting to decay and another box with a note on it.

"I guess, she would want use to read what was in the envelope first." Sakura guessed by looking at the three. Mori laughed softly at the back but still kept a comforting paw on Sakura's shoulders. When Sakura opened the envelope's seal, there were four letters stuffed into it and each is addressed to Mori; Sakura (?); George and finally Dawn (?). Sakura looked at her name and another name: Dawn with a (?) at the side; she took Dawn's letter and hers and placed them inside her bag first before turning to Mori who was reading her letter and tears were rolling down; Mori shared the letter with Sakura.

_Hello Mom,_

_If you are reading this, then I guess Sakura really made it there and the great destiny has been set into motion as well. I am truly sorry for not sharing what I was up to be I was not allowed to tell… even you. Do you remember back when I told you about a riolu and Charmander fighting with swords? Well this is the truth of what happened:_

_When I was picking Cherrim Flowers, I overheard voices (not fighting, sorry that I lied) and I did not snuck up on a riolu and Charmander fighting, instead I got ambushed, it seems that those guys who put me in a bind were after me to begin with and was intending to break into our home and steal me away in the night. I was bound and my mouth was stuffed with a disgusting piece of cloth, unable to talk, call for help or even move; I feared that I would be kidnapped and disappear without a trace. But then the two Pokémon, Riolu and Charmander came to my rescue using their swords; after chasing away the bandits, they untied me and took me to a quiet spring. They told me that those bandits earlier were members of a secret organization called: Dark Polar; it's an organization that intends to revive their master called Polaris so that a new reign of chaos would occur and they needed me for a part in the great resurrection. To protect me better, the two warriors arranged for me to leave the southern region and escape into the north where the Dark Polar's influence was bare._

_There was another thing I never told you; I have a special gift. My foresight ability, as you would recall, was beyond expectations; in fact, it was allowing me to glimpse into the future only once and it showed me all these events just after my death from natural birth. That's why I took the key and planted it on Alice whom would pass it to Sakura (at least what my vision shows me) and her problems would lead her straight to you._

_Please understand, I wanted to tell you everything but I just could not… the opening of this box means that the last of my vision is over from that point on, I do not know anything else about the future. I hope that you love Sakura, she looks just like me when I was younger._

_Love, Hakari._

Sakura could not believe what she was reading; her mother saw a glimpse into the future and thus planned the key on her, hoping that it would lead her back to Mori. She then noticed the note on the smaller box: Sakura; if you see your little sister, Dawn, please pass this clip to her. Sakura looked at the letter addressed to George and a small string of words: take the white Cherrim Flowers with the note to him if he refuses to read the letter. Sakura took the letter and thanked Mori and bid her farewells before dashing off.

While Sakura was running, the string attaching a shell-shaped locket broke and it dropped on the ground; failing to notice, Sakura kept running onwards. She headed back to the ice-cream parlor, hoping to find the Flareon that talked to her before but he was gone already.

"Where did he go?" Sakura muttered to herself. Oliver's dad, owner of the parlor, was the only one there.

"Who?"

"That Flareon from before…" Sakura asked hastily and Oliver's dad just said the word: home. "Where is it?"

Meanwhile, Arthur and Jake found Crystal and Mat and were heading to Mori's place right now. However, before they got there, they saw Jasmine and Oliver already leaving.

"What is going on?" Crystal asked, "Where is Sakura?"

"Mori said she left already to do something…" Jasmine explained as they all met up. "I think we should split up again."

"You're right; I need to meet a contact of mine in Moon Fortress City and we also need to find Sakura, so all of look for her and when you do bring her to Moon Fortress, I will look for you later." Crystal elaborated her plan to the team. "Any questions?"

"Yeah… can't I just…" Arthur started and then Crystal gave him a very ferocious glare and reduced his confidence. "On second thought… never mind, we will find her!"

"Thank you." Crystal whispered as she left, Mat was now in charge; he gave everyone a signal flare that he gotten a few days back.

"Now use these when you find her and we will all gather there."


	30. Chapter 30

Sakura the Eevee was still venturing around looking for George the Flareon; she looked around the farmlands and houses; the last place she has not looked yet was the Docks. Team Sapphire's members all came close to finding Sakura when she was in the farmlands; Crystal and Mat failed to notice Sakura as she was far away, Arthur and Jake did not see Sakura when she was inquiring a pokemon that was just a few lengths behind them and Jasmine and Oliver did not find Sakura at the docks at slipped by the Ice Cream Parlor when Sakura was in it.

There was a ferry leaving towards the West and into lands that Sakura does not know much of; it was also the ship that George was intending to get on to go away from the shadow of Hikari, Sakura's mother. Sakura was at the docks and was looking around for him, holding onto a letter that her mother had written for George himself and was determined to pass it to him no matter what as it was her mother's wish.

The ship was almost ready when Sakura entered the terminal. George was looking at something in his paw.

"Hey!" Sakura panted. "George, right?"

"Yes… but how did you know my name?" George the Flareon said while covertly slipping the piece of paper away from sight. Sakura came up to him while she was recovering from her search.

"My… mother… Hikari… letter… for… you…" Sakura panted as she spoke but George vaguely got the idea.

"Look kid, I spent many years pining for your mother and now I want to leave all of it behind and start anew," George elaborated. "That letter, you can just tear it apart." Sakura took out the letter, along with the flowers and shoved it right into George's paws, causing him to drop the paper he was looking at. Sakura, being shorter, was able to seize the paper first.

"Isn't this…" Sakura muttered as she saw the picture on it: a childhood photo that was carefully repaired after being torn to bits; Hikari and George's photo from when they were Eevees. "You really do care… so why don't you at least read it…"

When Sakura looked back up, there was a floating piece of charred parchment descending to the floor. Sakura looked at it as if she lost a valuable heirloom.

"If you excuse me, I need to go to my future… oh yeah, almost forgot," George said. "Take this…"

Sakura caught a sort of coupon thrown by George as he got up left to the ship; leaving Sakura dumbfounded at the terminal. The bridge between the ferry and terminal was withdrawn and the ship was preparing to depart. Sakura rushed up to the barrier and yelled.

"You idiot! Why did you burn that letter, it was really important…" Sakura stopped half-way reprimanding George when she saw George waving at her with the letter still intact in his paw. "What..."

"You are just like her, so gullible!" George yelled and soon the ship fully left and on its voyage.

AS Sakura left the terminal, she was met with a 'welcoming' community (everyone gathered after Jasmine fired her flare near the terminal). Her friends all either reprimanded her for running off like that and some were just glad she was safe and sound; Sakura took a look at the coupon that George threw and inspected the big words: special free ride coupon to anywhere. Sakura smiled and showed the ticket to everyone, silencing any further talking.

"He gave this to me…" Sakura said, touched that George had finally seen the light. "It's a coupon that could take us to the Arcane Archives in Shadowvile from Moon Fortress."

Crystal and Mat's eyes shone and they quickly gathered everyone and decided to head to the Moon Fortress City. Moon Fortress's outskirts were farmlands for farmers who like the traditional way of life but within the castle walls, life was a complete change; pokemon were living in polished marble houses; pokemon, instead of tending to fields, got jobs in various crafting industries such as creating glassware, replicas of ancient weapons and clothes. Time seems to be at a standstill at this town as it looks the same if you had went back nearly two hundred years ago.

Sakura's coupon states that they could take the special carriage straight to Shadowville and now they need to find Team Pokelife that went here earlier to find Sakura. They first bumped into Eve whose first instinct upon seeing Sakura was to give her one humongous hug.

"Sakura!" Eve cried out and she and Sakura crashed to the floor. "Where did you run off to? We looked everywhere for you! I do really mean everywhere: I dove down to the sewers, thinking you might have fallen in it; I also went to every house in town in search of you!"

Team Sapphire sweat-dropped as if it was literal then Melody and Kyle (Eve's parents and leaders of Team Pokelife) would have a lot of apologizing to do; they went around to the second district and found Chloe who was heading into an alley. They followed her only to find her beating other pokemon to a pulp.

"That should be enough to teach you to respect others! Being rich does not make you any better, got it?" Chloe said in fury as she pinned down a Lillipup. "I said do you understand me?"

"Y…es!" The Lillipup replied in fear as Chloe got off of him and left. When Chloe turned around, she saw everyone with their jaws dropped.

"Oh there you are! Where are you staring at me like that?" Chloe asked; Crystal and Mat were the first ones to ask what happened and Chloe gave them the details as they walked down to the next street. They then bumped into Kyle, Melody and Ken.

Ken looked sulky as he was grounded for trying to create explosives unknowingly; Chloe and Eve always tried to cheer him up but to no avail. Melody and Kyle were apologizing to another household for some reason and when they turned around, they saw Team Sapphire.

"Finally… any longer and I think we need to send Eve jail for breaking and entering." Melody said in a relieved tone. Team Sapphire looked at Eve and was simply stunned; such a sweet Eevee could go to the length of breaking into others' homes just to find Sakura. "So what's next? Shadowvile is quite a way away."

"We do not need to worry about it anymore: Sakura received a coupon that could transport us to Shadowvile via the carriage for free."

Soon after that, everyone was at the carriage station; when Sakura represented the coupon, the Umbreon looked at it then to Sakura and was a little skeptical about the coupon.

"Excuse me, miss. Where did you get this from?" the Umbreon asked and Sakura told him about George and how she received the coupon; the Umbreon decided not to ask anymore and placed three of its carriages under the task of bringing them to Shadowville. It was a sight when they opened the doors; the seats were lined with velvet cushions and it smelled strongly of lavender. Team Sapphire's Crystal, Jasmine and Sakura got into one; Oliver, Jake, Mat and Arthur in another and the rest in the last. And soon they were on their way.

The sky turned dark as they travelled further west with the aid of Ponytas pulling the carriage; Sakura had been rather quiet during the journey and there was only one conversation ongoing between Crystal and Jasmine about plants; Arthur was similarly silent but the others assumed that it was from being separated from the girls and carried on talking without him; Team Pokelife was busy reprimanding Eve for her actions in Moon Fortress. Night has fallen; the route to Darkwood Village was through a dense forest and at night, it was nearly impossible for any pokemon to see that path but the ponytas's flames illuminated the pathway.

Darkwood Village was a fishing village that lived off its agriculture (in fact most of the southern region survives mainly based on agriculture). Everyone took a momentary stop here for the night as the ponytas needed to rest in order to reach Shadowville; they all separated into rooms in the local inn for the night, they kept to the same grouping as they took the carriages.

It was pretty late into the night; Sakura was out Moon-gazing by the window. The smell of aged wood filled her lungs and the cold wind blew and made her neat fur go all out of place but she did not mind it at all. Sakura fumbled through her collar fur and then realized something: her shell-shaped locket was missing. Sakura sighed as she knew that the locket was important and she was so clumsy as to lose it. The moonlight was all the lit the room; Sakura was wondering what would she do after she was done with reverting Arthur back to his old self.

_After so long, I guess now it's a good time to think about what I am going to do after Arthur was better. I guess I had been so busy with this expedition that I forgotten to think about it; after this, my agreement to my dad was finish this adventure and return to my duties… I guess if I fail to help Arthur, I will have to spend my days at the castles and hopefully one day everything will be made right. But then, if I succeed, I could be with Arthur like we used to be._

Sakura fell asleep on the window still that night also leaving the window open too; she woke up earlier than normal to answer the call of nature due to the colder atmosphere but she was not the only one: Jasmine also felt too cold and woke up as well. Jasmine and Sakura met in the restroom; they greeted each other but otherwise, did not say much to each other.

"Are you alright? You seem troubled." Jasmine asked as they both used the sink together and Jasmine noticed Sakura's worried look from the reflection of the mirror before her.

"I had been thinking a lot recently…" Sakura replied before dunking her face into water; when she came back out of the water and wiped her face. "After this adventure, I have to return back to the castle and continue my duties. I am a princess after all, no denying it."

"Sakura… I can understand your pain, it's a little my parents. They wanted me to study medicine like them but I am more of an explorer with a little interest in herbs and remedies… I just can't decide."

"Just follow your heart like they said… but what if my own heart just doesn't know the way?"

"Then it will be clear eventually, doesn't it?"

"I hope it does."

Team Pokelife approached Team Sapphire in the morning; they would be parting ways with them in Darkwood Village. Team Pokelife had always wanted to visit Darkwood Village as Kyle's parents' grave was located there. Team Sapphire wanted to stay and join them in paying their respects but Team Pokelife would not allow them.

"You have a bigger mission ahead; don't stop for miscellaneous things like this." Melody said as she gathered her children after breakfast. They all ventured out to the location that the carriages were waiting. It was a clear sunny day; other pokemon were tending to their respective fields and some staying back in their wooden shacks. The path leading south to a mountain was where Team Pokelife wanted to go whereas Team Sapphire needs to head further west.

"Well this is… goodbye!" Eve cried and she gave everyone that she could reach a near-death hug. "Sakura, promise me that you would make me a maid of honor if you get married!"

"Eve!" Melody said in shock and she manually dragged Eve away with her paw over her mouth. "Sorry about that…"

"It's alright and I promise!" Sakura replied cheerfully (and awkwardly); Sakura stole a glance at Arthur and also catching Arthur doing the same vice versa. They both quickly turned away and it attracted some attention to the both of them.

"Well our ride is waiting, I guess its goodbye; it has been nice meeting you." Crystal said as she got into the carriage once again. Soon they are on their way to the final destination: Shadowvile


	31. Chapter 31

After deciding on the perfect birthday gift, the rest of Team Sapphire set off to prepare for the upcoming birthday party. Meanwhile, Crystal and Sakura had something terrible to deal with: Arthur's body was slowly losing opacity.

"What the… why am I beginning to fade?" Arthur asked as he inspected his own paws. He was still solid but he is clearly translucent now.

"I don't know… we haven't found any reference to the curse yet." Sakura replied frantically. Crystal was now looking through some Wind Spell books to find spells that allow her to search faster; she has already casted 'Seek' which allow her eyes to be almost anywhere in the library.

"I found it!" Crystal said as she recalled her spell. "But that book is on the third floor, the restricted section."

Sakura looked at the key-stone then to the staircase just behind it; she tried to make a run for it as she just found a new spell that allowed her to duplicate anything for a set period of time. The librarian shot out and blocked her.

"I said you may not access the third floor!" the Spiritomb said in a stern tone. "I do not care how dire your situation is! The law is the law!"

"Sakura… there is only one way to go to the third floor legally." Crystal said as she held up a book in her paw: The Archive Rules. "Either you or I need to defeat Master Polaris and claim the title Master of Magic… so we need to use these books."

The Librarian went back to its tranquil state after Sakura backed off from the staircase; Crystal brought more spell books on Wind and Water Spells. Crystal had some special magic items that she asked her sister to mail to her, including a magic pen that could write in mid-air. Arthur had nothing much to do except wait…

"Maybe I should go back to the others since you don't have much to do with me." Arthur suggested, Crystal glanced at him and pondered.

"If you leave looking like this… how would you not cause panic?" Crystal asked. "With you looking ethereal, many Pokemon might get scared."

"But then what can I do… I have little to do." Arthur said.

"How about… you help us send mail and collect packages while we work, I doubt we will be leaving this archive until we are able to defeat Master Polaris." Crystal said and so Arthur wrote a letter to everyone else who were organizing the party, explaining their situation.

Now for the last two weeks, Mat and rest had bought or asked for food and sent them to Crystal and Sakura in the archives. Arthur helped by being a communicator, collecting the packages and serving them to the two working mystics. The party was still being secretly planned; they already got the decorations and the planning all done.

Within the two weeks, Sakura and Crystal boosted their magical capacity by nearly five times of the original; Crystal understood the wind as if it was her very own soul, she could sense several things that normal pokemon could not. Sakura had fine-tuned her mastery of Water; she learned how to manipulate the very properties of it to suit her needs. The both of them had once created a magical area for practical use and most of the time, Crystal defeats Sakura in practice. Wind had a distinct advantage over Water so Sakura was doing very well despite it; they also stumbled upon a book about secondary elements as primary.

"It said if we mastered our own specialized elements, it will trigger a chain reaction with another primary to form a secondary…" Sakura said as she wrote notes all over the place.

"I guess we need to look into it further…" Crystal replied and they decided to go back to practice.

As more time went on within the two weeks, Crystal realized her wind as a tendency to fuse with Sakura's water and form ice. Crystal tried to use the little experience she had in water magic and fused it with her wind; Crystal soon was able to use ice as if it was her wind. Sakura was still unable to find her mix but according to the book; her element could only fuse with Wind or Earth, never Fire.

The two weeks of training was tough but Sakura and Crystal were now more refined. Crystal feels confident about taking on Polaris now but Sakura still believes that she need to learn more before she could take on the Master. Crystal took the orb that she received and was about to activate it then there was a message being displayed as a hologram.

_Only one of the remaining few may take me on._

Crystal recalled that Polaris had said that between Sakura and herself, only one could face him; she looked at Sakura who was still looking through more advanced magic books.

"Sakura… we don't have much time left, we need to do it now." Crystal said and Arthur was coming in with the food package. Arthur had been losing more of his opacity during the week, now he looks more like a spirit than a pokemon.

"I know but rushing into it is not going to help…" Sakura said as she used her 'flow' spell to read all of the contents of the book within a few seconds. "If we just knew what we were facing…"

"According to those older record books, Polaris was originally an Earth mystic but he mastered Wind and managed to fuse it now he uses magic that is beyond these books." Crystal tried to reason with Sakura.

"Alright then… let's do it…" Sakura said closing the last book in the stack.

Crystal took the orb once again and Sakura took hers as well. They activated it at the same time and then both of them fainted.

In reality, their souls were transferred to another dimension. They both materialized in close proximity of each other and there was just a barren and rocky wasteland around them.

"I see you both had improved a lot in terms of magic power." A dark shadow said; both Sakura and Crystal frowned at it. "Come now… we are not here to glare at me but you two to fight and the winner will face me whenever she is ready. I can wait forever."

"Sakura… this is no longer a practice, all the times you lost are behind you now. I want you to put your best to defeat me!" Crystal said and Sakura nodded.

"I don't want to see you giving in either." Sakura replied and they both took their positions.

"Alright… enough talk, ready… begin!" the shadow said.

Crystal summoned an orb of ice that travelled forward slowly while emitting ice bolts in six different directions; Sakura shot a jet of water straight at the orb; the water stuck the orb and melted it; steam covered the battlefield. Sakura counter-attacked using a tidal wave attack; Crystal simply stood still and the tidal wave landed but Crystal had a concentrated flow of air repelling the water around her. Before the tidal wave could dissolve into the ground, Crystal froze it solid then manipulated the air around her to control the ice, hurling large chunks of it at Sakura. The ice stuck Sakura head on and Crystal waited for the mist to clear and when it did, she was shocked at what she saw.

"But how…" Crystal asked as she saw some parts of Sakura's body completely gone but she was still standing.

"My body is now like water… impossible to destroy." Sakura replied and then sent two homing jets of water at Crystal while her body regenerated itself.

Crystal used her wind to redirect Sakura's water jets but they changed their mind midway and just avoided Crystal's wind and stuck her directly. Crystal recovered and then sent wind blades soaring to Sakura but once again they cut through Sakura's body but she was still standing and it regenerated once again.

Sakura shot nine jets of water at Crystal while Crystal made a huge hammer with her ice power; Crystal got hit as she was forming the hammer and then she was locked inside a water bubble. The ice hammer dropped and managed to hit Sakura whom was focusing on keeping the bubble around Crystal. Sakura's body separated into droplets before reforming again; Crystal froze the bubble, encasing herself in ice instead. The ice shattered and Crystal leapt skywards; Sakura triggered a geyser to fire from under Crystal; the ground turned wet due to a lot of water spells being used. Crystal aimed an ice blast and froze the geyser's water before landing on it and then she leapt off and froze the ground that was wet. Sakura did not slip due to the icy floor; she spun around several times and created a water tornado with Sakura in the eye of the storm; the tornado picked up loose boulders and launched them at Crystal.

Crystal created a small bow and arrow set with her wind magic and then fired wind bolts at the boulders, shattering them into pieces; Crystal then shot an orb into the sky, changing the clear weather into a hail storm. The shards of hail that hit Sakura fell to the ground doing no damage to her. Sakura broke the tornado into water slices that travelled at an extremely fast speed to Crystal; to stop the slices from hitting her, Crystal increased the air resistance to the water slices. Sakura then summoned a flower below Crystal before shooting water bubbles at Crystal.

Crystal's counter measures to Sakura's spells worked very well as none of the water attacks could reach her anymore. The flower below her was what concerned her now; Sakura and Crystal were pretty well matched against each other but suddenly, Sakura shot over one hundred rockets of water. Crystal's wind barrier did not hold out as the water stuck her directly and encasing her again in a water bubble. The hail suddenly turned to rain and then all the droplets gathered around Sakura, Crystal broke out of the bubble using the same technique as before; she landed and stomped the ground and transformed the pulsations into ice and sent them in Sakura's direction. Sakura was still gathering the droplets and even the lightning into one huge ball in her paws; she focused hard and then she smashed the whole thing into the ground and caused a tidal wave that was as big as some of the skyscrapers in Jube City; Crystal flowed her previous counter-measure and focused on an air current to cover herself. The tidal wave hit once again but it broke through her counter-measure and engulfed her. Crystal tried to freeze the water but the electricity that Sakura gathered earlier paralyzed her and the full destruction of that attack stuck Crystal; she landed with a huge bang and cracking the ground she landed. Sakura landed and controlled the remains of her wave to whack Crystal skywards before she jumped up and formed a quick sword and sliced Crystal.

Sakura stopped to gather back some more of her strength; the tidal wave had cost her most of her power. Crystal was struggling to stand after that attack. She tried to form something with her ice power but she could not and she collapsed… the battle was over.

They both were transferred back but Crystal's magic was dispersed and given to Sakura. They both woke up but Crystal was suffering the aftermath. Sakura helped Crystal to lie down on the table.

"That… was a… fantastic… match," Crystal said, smiling broadly. "You… really gave… it… all."

"Try not to talk, you need to rest." Sakura said as she tried to make it more comfortable for Crystal. "I just got lucky with the rain."

"If… that's the case… you should… learn weather… spells," Crystal panted as she went to sleep. Sakura used the same spell that Crystal had been using for the two weeks to collect more books about spells and began to study them. Arthur sent a letter to the rest, informing them of the results.

The letter reached the rest within that day; the battle did not last a long in real time. Mat read it and he said that it seems almost fated that Sakura will save Arthur's life and his memory.


	32. Chapter 32

After deciding on the perfect birthday gift, the rest of Team Sapphire set off to prepare for the upcoming birthday party. Meanwhile, Crystal and Sakura had something terrible to deal with: Arthur's body was slowly losing opacity.

"What the… why am I beginning to fade?" Arthur asked as he inspected his own paws. He was still solid but he is clearly translucent now.

"I don't know… we haven't found any reference to the curse yet." Sakura replied frantically. Crystal was now looking through some Wind Spell books to find spells that allow her to search faster; she has already casted 'Seek' which allow her eyes to be almost anywhere in the library.

"I found it!" Crystal said as she recalled her spell. "But that book is on the third floor, the restricted section."

Sakura looked at the key-stone then to the staircase just behind it; she tried to make a run for it as she just found a new spell that allowed her to duplicate anything for a set period of time. The librarian shot out and blocked her.

"I said you may not access the third floor!" the Spiritomb said in a stern tone. "I do not care how dire your situation is! The law is the law!"

"Sakura… there is only one way to go to the third floor legally." Crystal said as she held up a book in her paw: The Archive Rules. "Either you or I need to defeat Master Polaris and claim the title Master of Magic… so we need to use these books."

The Librarian went back to its tranquil state after Sakura backed off from the staircase; Crystal brought more spell books on Wind and Water Spells. Crystal had some special magic items that she asked her sister to mail to her, including a magic pen that could write in mid-air. Arthur had nothing much to do except wait…

"Maybe I should go back to the others since you don't have much to do with me." Arthur suggested, Crystal glanced at him and pondered.

"If you leave looking like this… how would you not cause panic?" Crystal asked. "With you looking ethereal, many Pokemon might get scared."

"But then what can I do… I have little to do." Arthur said.

"How about… you help us send mail and collect packages while we work, I doubt we will be leaving this archive until we are able to defeat Master Polaris." Crystal said and so Arthur wrote a letter to everyone else who were organizing the party, explaining their situation.

Now for the last two weeks, Mat and rest had bought or asked for food and sent them to Crystal and Sakura in the archives. Arthur helped by being a communicator, collecting the packages and serving them to the two working mystics. The party was still being secretly planned; they already got the decorations and the planning all done.

Within the two weeks, Sakura and Crystal boosted their magical capacity by nearly five times of the original; Crystal understood the wind as if it was her very own soul, she could sense several things that normal pokemon could not. Sakura had fine-tuned her mastery of Water; she learned how to manipulate the very properties of it to suit her needs. The both of them had once created a magical area for practical use and most of the time, Crystal defeats Sakura in practice. Wind had a distinct advantage over Water so Sakura was doing very well despite it; they also stumbled upon a book about secondary elements as primary.

"It said if we mastered our own specialized elements, it will trigger a chain reaction with another primary to form a secondary…" Sakura said as she wrote notes all over the place.

"I guess we need to look into it further…" Crystal replied and they decided to go back to practice.

As more time went on within the two weeks, Crystal realized her wind as a tendency to fuse with Sakura's water and form ice. Crystal tried to use the little experience she had in water magic and fused it with her wind; Crystal soon was able to use ice as if it was her wind. Sakura was still unable to find her mix but according to the book; her element could only fuse with Wind or Earth, never Fire.

The two weeks of training was tough but Sakura and Crystal were now more refined. Crystal feels confident about taking on Polaris now but Sakura still believes that she need to learn more before she could take on the Master. Crystal took the orb that she received and was about to activate it then there was a message being displayed as a hologram.

_Only one of the remaining few may take me on._

Crystal recalled that Polaris had said that between Sakura and herself, only one could face him; she looked at Sakura who was still looking through more advanced magic books.

"Sakura… we don't have much time left, we need to do it now." Crystal said and Arthur was coming in with the food package. Arthur had been losing more of his opacity during the week, now he looks more like a spirit than a pokemon.

"I know but rushing into it is not going to help…" Sakura said as she used her 'flow' spell to read all of the contents of the book within a few seconds. "If we just knew what we were facing…"

"According to those older record books, Polaris was originally an Earth mystic but he mastered Wind and managed to fuse it now he uses magic that is beyond these books." Crystal tried to reason with Sakura.

"Alright then… let's do it…" Sakura said closing the last book in the stack.

Crystal took the orb once again and Sakura took hers as well. They activated it at the same time and then both of them fainted.

In reality, their souls were transferred to another dimension. They both materialized in close proximity of each other and there was just a barren and rocky wasteland around them.

"I see you both had improved a lot in terms of magic power." A dark shadow said; both Sakura and Crystal frowned at it. "Come now… we are not here to glare at me but you two to fight and the winner will face me whenever she is ready. I can wait forever."

"Sakura… this is no longer a practice, all the times you lost are behind you now. I want you to put your best to defeat me!" Crystal said and Sakura nodded.

"I don't want to see you giving in either." Sakura replied and they both took their positions.

"Alright… enough talk, ready… begin!" the shadow said.

Crystal summoned an orb of ice that travelled forward slowly while emitting ice bolts in six different directions; Sakura shot a jet of water straight at the orb; the water stuck the orb and melted it; steam covered the battlefield. Sakura counter-attacked using a tidal wave attack; Crystal simply stood still and the tidal wave landed but Crystal had a concentrated flow of air repelling the water around her. Before the tidal wave could dissolve into the ground, Crystal froze it solid then manipulated the air around her to control the ice, hurling large chunks of it at Sakura. The ice stuck Sakura head on and Crystal waited for the mist to clear and when it did, she was shocked at what she saw.

"But how…" Crystal asked as she saw some parts of Sakura's body completely gone but she was still standing.

"My body is now like water… impossible to destroy." Sakura replied and then sent two homing jets of water at Crystal while her body regenerated itself.

Crystal used her wind to redirect Sakura's water jets but they changed their mind midway and just avoided Crystal's wind and stuck her directly. Crystal recovered and then sent wind blades soaring to Sakura but once again they cut through Sakura's body but she was still standing and it regenerated once again.

Sakura shot nine jets of water at Crystal while Crystal made a huge hammer with her ice power; Crystal got hit as she was forming the hammer and then she was locked inside a water bubble. The ice hammer dropped and managed to hit Sakura whom was focusing on keeping the bubble around Crystal. Sakura's body separated into droplets before reforming again; Crystal froze the bubble, encasing herself in ice instead. The ice shattered and Crystal leapt skywards; Sakura triggered a geyser to fire from under Crystal; the ground turned wet due to a lot of water spells being used. Crystal aimed an ice blast and froze the geyser's water before landing on it and then she leapt off and froze the ground that was wet. Sakura did not slip due to the icy floor; she spun around several times and created a water tornado with Sakura in the eye of the storm; the tornado picked up loose boulders and launched them at Crystal.

Crystal created a small bow and arrow set with her wind magic and then fired wind bolts at the boulders, shattering them into pieces; Crystal then shot an orb into the sky, changing the clear weather into a hail storm. The shards of hail that hit Sakura fell to the ground doing no damage to her. Sakura broke the tornado into water slices that travelled at an extremely fast speed to Crystal; to stop the slices from hitting her, Crystal increased the air resistance to the water slices. Sakura then summoned a flower below Crystal before shooting water bubbles at Crystal.

Crystal's counter measures to Sakura's spells worked very well as none of the water attacks could reach her anymore. The flower below her was what concerned her now; Sakura and Crystal were pretty well matched against each other but suddenly, Sakura shot over one hundred rockets of water. Crystal's wind barrier did not hold out as the water stuck her directly and encasing her again in a water bubble. The hail suddenly turned to rain and then all the droplets gathered around Sakura, Crystal broke out of the bubble using the same technique as before; she landed and stomped the ground and transformed the pulsations into ice and sent them in Sakura's direction. Sakura was still gathering the droplets and even the lightning into one huge ball in her paws; she focused hard and then she smashed the whole thing into the ground and caused a tidal wave that was as big as some of the skyscrapers in Jube City; Crystal flowed her previous counter-measure and focused on an air current to cover herself. The tidal wave hit once again but it broke through her counter-measure and engulfed her. Crystal tried to freeze the water but the electricity that Sakura gathered earlier paralyzed her and the full destruction of that attack stuck Crystal; she landed with a huge bang and cracking the ground she landed. Sakura landed and controlled the remains of her wave to whack Crystal skywards before she jumped up and formed a quick sword and sliced Crystal.

Sakura stopped to gather back some more of her strength; the tidal wave had cost her most of her power. Crystal was struggling to stand after that attack. She tried to form something with her ice power but she could not and she collapsed… the battle was over.

They both were transferred back but Crystal's magic was dispersed and given to Sakura. They both woke up but Crystal was suffering the aftermath. Sakura helped Crystal to lie down on the table.

"That… was a… fantastic… match," Crystal said, smiling broadly. "You… really gave… it… all."

"Try not to talk, you need to rest." Sakura said as she tried to make it more comfortable for Crystal. "I just got lucky with the rain."

"If… that's the case… you should… learn weather… spells," Crystal panted as she went to sleep. Sakura used the same spell that Crystal had been using for the two weeks to collect more books about spells and began to study them. Arthur sent a letter to the rest, informing them of the results.

The letter reached the rest within that day; the battle did not last a long in real time. Mat read it and he said that it seems almost fated that Sakura will save Arthur's life and his memory.


	33. Chapter 33

News of Sakura's rising ascension to attempt to claim the title Master of Magic spread across the world like wildfire. Arthur suddenly received a lot of letters of encouragement from pokemon that she had previously met: Alice the Glaceon, her former caretaker; Aries the Snivy and her band of rescuers; Riley, the captain of the royal guard; Frosty, Crystal's younger sister; Katie the Skitty and most of the Sun-Grove's servants; Melody the Glaceon and her family and lastly, Sakura's father.

Crystal woke up the next day and stayed to help Sakura study. It had been two days since Sakura bested Crystal and was now in the position to battle the master of magic; Crystal transferred all of her knowledge about wind and ice to Sakura via memory link so that Sakura was now specialized in wind as well. Sakura realized something as she was browsing through book after book: she had bested a Quilava whom seems to be specialized in fire that time; then in the second trial, she won against a Machoke who uses Earth magic; after that was Riley, an elite who uses fire magic as well and now Crystal, a user of wind magic. All of her opponents' powers were combined into her own. She started to test her new theory that she also taken their specializations; she looked up spells that require joint elements.

She tried something called Ice Explosion that required water and wind in prefect unison and it worked like a charm with a spectacular display of ice crystals; then she tried something call liquid fire that calls for an expert control of fire and water to work and she managed it too. Sakura's hunch was proven correct that she could now control other elements as easily as she did with her water element; secondary elements are now simple for Sakura; the remaining time was spent on working on strategies on combining all of new power and also increasing her capacity to be able to manage all of her magic. As the week was going to draw to a close, Arthur came in with a letter from the rest.

"Everyone is inviting us to go back to the hotel; they want to congratulate Sakura for going to face the master." Arthur said. Sakura strangely placed the book down and agreed to go. Crystal took her cloak and covered Arthur with it and then they set off from the Arcane Archives that had been their home for nearly three weeks.

When they reached the hotel and then told by Jasmine to go to the event hall; they were surprised by everyone they knew.

"**Happy Birthday!**"

The two words brought about realization to both Sakura and Arthur and Arthur caught sight of the banner: Happy Birthday, Sakura and Arthur. He was strangely surprised that Sakura and he had the same birthday; they were surrounded by several of their friends and Sakura could not help but join in the festivities; Arthur felt awkward as he could not recall who were majority of the pokemon before him. Sakura kindly took him around and re-introduced him to all of his friends; Arthur felt so happy that his flirty nature dissipated and he started to mingle with every pokemon. Just after they cut the cake; sang their songs and ate most of the food, Arthur lost his solidity and dropped his plate of food. The whole party was brought to a stand-still as Arthur tried to pick up these and his paw passes through them like they were not there.

"Sakura, there is no time! You got to go and fight Polaris now or it will be too late." Crystal yelled from afar. She passed down the orb to Sakura whom took it with shaking paws.

"Arthur…" Sakura said as she took the orb. "I promise will make it back and I will save you!"

"Don't make a promise if you know you can't keep it…" Arthur muttered but everyone heard it. Sakura activated the orb and this time, her whole body disappeared along with her soul. The party turned to a worrisome chitter-chatter; Crystal went up on stage and took the microphone.

"Listen up everyone, we need to pray for Sakura's success as she is Arthur's only hope right now."

Meanwhile, Sakura was traveling through the gap between dimensions. Her mind was in total shock after seeing Arthur in that state; there were tears that wanted to flow out but it just would not roll out of her eyes. The transition between dimensions seems to have taken a long time but soon Sakura arrived on the same circular platform. Her mind was purely on Arthur.

_Arthur… the moment has come. Someone is trying to separate us once again… this time, I will not run. I will fight… fight for our friendship, our feelings… for all the times you had saved me and placed your life on the line for me. We both experienced the pain didn't we… the feeling of being alone with nobody that could break through the darkness and show us the light. And also… your promise, how do you keep it if you don't live._

Sakura stood before a Dark Eevee whom seems to be meditating; Sakura was now looking at the Eevee that resembled herself.

"You have arrived? I thought you would take one more day to get ready… oh well, this might not take very long…" said the same voice of the shadow that had 'guided' her through the trials. The master of magic, Polaris, stood up. "This form you see before you was a part of you; rest assured I will return it when I get what I want."

Sakura remained silent; her heart was now fuelled with the desire to help Arthur. Polaris turned and faced Sakura; his eyes glanced at Sakura as if bored.

"Let's begin. You can have the first move, make it fast…"

Sakura's eyes opened wide and she charged up; she summoned ice cannon almost instantly and fired an Ice Bomb at Polaris. When the mist subsided, Sakura's face looked surprised as she saw her bullet stopped mid-way.

"I forgot to mention, when it comes to my title, I do not kid around…" Polaris spoke harshly and crumbled the bullet then launched some sort of attack at Sakura; from the force of it, Sakura shattered into droplets then reformed again. Sakura tried her Liquid Fire and it once again failed to reach Polaris for some reason.

"Why doesn't my attack reach?" Sakura said in rage as she backed off once again.

"Let me enlighten you, little girl." Polaris mocked. "I am a mystic that specialized in Gravity! There is no way you can win me!"

Sakura bit her lip as Gravity was an ancient element that had no primary or even secondary element that could fuse to form it; Sakura was thinking fast, going against Gravity magic was beyond her expectations. Sakura tried her Water Bubble against Polaris, it stuck but then it got reversed and it dropped upwards to the sky. Sakura casted a spell on herself called 'Amplify', she then shot a fiery inferno which was raw fire mixed with water and wind. The flames proceeded to Polaris and it seemed to have an effect on him.

"I had not felt pain in over ten years, girl… I guess I am done letting you learn how to fight." Polaris said as he finally moved and he shot out gravity spheres that move slowly. Sakura then shot nine separate blazing flames and it homed in on Polaris; the flame were about to hit then they were warp out of existence. Sakura then tried an unusual mixture of water and wind, and then some light came out and zapped Polaris before he had time to react. Polaris retaliated by increasing the gravity around Sakura, pinning her to the ground then sent a gravity blast. Sakura felt she was getting both physically and mentally drained by the attack; Polaris did not give her time to recover as he summoned Gravity Shackles that binds Sakura in place then following it up with his quad-elemental blast but the blast just separated Sakura, allowing her to reform outside the shackles. Sakura took the moment to use earth, water and fire magic together and form a hundred solid diamond swords then sent them all flying to Polaris; a spell was used and then when the sword just barely touching Polaris and it was twisted into a ball of metal; Sakura used her water magic alone to reform the fallen blades out of Polaris's sight and then sent them upwards. They did not get twisted like normal blades and it successfully hit Polaris.

Polaris backed off after being hit by three hits, he was deeply impressed. Sakura, on the other hand, was pounded by Gravity spells several times.

"Impressive! I never felt such enjoyment in such a long time, such a shame that I had to put you down." Polaris laughed; Sakura was starting to worry as she knew that Polaris was not even unleashing everything he has. Sakura was taking the time-out that Polaris had given her to think.

_This is bad; I used almost everything I got. I doubt that my tidal wave attack would work on him like it did with Crystal. His Gravity spells are quite painful if you felt the full force of it; I best not forget, he still has his four basic elements and their secondary. Not to mention, his curses that he had yet to use. But that one moment… when I fused wind and water, it made lightning! Light and Fire seems to be able to damage him despite his gravity, not mention my refractive property of water blades. But he would soon catch on, then what do I do…_

"I hope you come up with a plan this time… as I am now increasing the difficulty." Polaris said and he charged in front. Sakura just leapt out of the way then she realized that it was a hoax. The gravity surround her whacked her down then lifted her up then smashed her down onto the platform repeatedly. Sakura surrounded herself with water and it softened the damage she took; she then shot several flames downwards; Polaris dodge the flames then shot a gravity sphere and then it directly hit Sakura. The pulses of gravity caused Sakura to be a little light-head. Polaris was charging up for some sort of finish attack; with the gravity, Sakura could not dissipate into water droplets then reform, she was open to any finishing attack.

The dark energies flowed into Polaris's paw and then it formed a blade; Polaris hurled Sakura skywards then leapt up after her; not giving any chances, he stashed Sakura five times in the shape of a star then used Sakura as a stepping stone to get higher and was going plunge her downward; Polaris then summoned force mirrors in Sakura's falling pathway before diving down with a huge comet. The comet hit Sakura first then forced her through the mirrors that amplify the damage. When they landed Polaris leapt off and laughed.

"No pokemon could survive that attack! Princess Sakura of Sun-Grove has been defeated!" Polaris declared as he panted. He stumbled over to see the ruined body of Sakura but… there was nothing. "There is not even a piece of you left. I still reign supreme. Oh yeah, in case you did not know, since this is a huge event, I was broadcasting this fight everywhere around the whole world so that everyone can see!"

That was true… just when Sakura vanished, thousands of orbs appeared everywhere and then it displayed the whole battle as a hologram. Sakura's friends whom were watching broke down into tears; Crystal was also shocked and now feeling remorseful. Tears were flowing from several pokemon; tears for the loss of their friend, Sakura and also the imminent disappearance of Arthur.

"I told you Sakura, don't make a promise that you can't keep…" Arthur cried as he looked down in shame. "Sorry that I could not uphold my promise either… to protect you."

Across the globe, the defeat brought misery to many…


	34. Chapter 34

"**Sensory Blade!"**

Over a thousand aquatic blades emerged from the ground and stuck Polaris straight on. Each blade cause the nervous system to emit pain from every part of the body, multiplying by a thousand was near equivalent to just surviving a near death experience. Sakura reformed before Polaris; her fur in a total mess.

"But… how did you… impossible… no pokemon… could have survived it…" Polaris panted. Sakura smiled as she did not felt the attack at all as just before the blade hit her, she used wind magic and transformed herself into a gust of wind and left behind an earth doll duplicate of her.

"The tables have turned… you only care about maintaining some stupid title… I have a friend whose life is in my hands, all of my other friends are giving me their strength as we all care about him." Sakura said. "The truth is the one with the better purpose for fighting will always win those who fight for trivial reasons like you."

The misery soon turned to newfound hope; all of Sakura's friends took note of what she said: one with the better purpose for fighting will always win those who fight for trivial reasons.

Crystal recovered more quickly than anyone else and she bellowed into the microphone.

"Let's lend Sakura our strength, with all the willpower you can muster, break across the gap between the worlds and lend her your strength!"

Back in the other dimension, Sakura could feel all of the accumulated prayers of her friends giving her more strength. Sakura's inner magic power was responding to the prayers and then suddenly her four basic elements in material form appeared and fused together and formed the ultimate true element of the basic elements: Life. Sakura also felt her own power telling her: _Punish the user of ancient element of old, show him that the true force of the basic elements is beyond his ability._

However, despite the new element of Life, Polaris was still a foe that should not be taken lightly. Polaris resorted to using curses; Sakura summoned a golem of earth, the curse simply bounced off. Polaris then crushed it with Gravity; Sakura then moved at lightning speed then casted thunderstorm. The field was under Sakura's control; the very platform they are on was now moving at Sakura's will; the thunderstorm was only targeting Polaris whom most of time got hit by it. Polaris tried to manipulate the gravity around Sakura but a fissure had just been trigger and it shook the field uncontrollably and spewing lava everywhere; Polaris got burned slightly. Sakura then whipped up a twister right under Polaris's feet and sent him skywards; Polaris could not aim his curse well and it missed; Sakura then split herself into four separate entities, each one representing a different element.

Polaris now got four targets inside of one; Wind maintained the twister, while Water powered it up. Earth and Fire worked together to send a meteor down on Polaris. The combination of attacks caused Polaris to get hurt quite a bit.

"So the basic elements are that strong?" Polaris said. "Let's see how they deal with this." Polaris shot a huge gravity sphere and it hits Wind before splitting into six smaller spheres and striking Water. Polaris then used Gravity to crush Earth then Fire reverted back to Sakura. Still enraged, Polaris continued the assault using a comet storm; Sakura took control of the comets themselves then recreated them into golems for her cause. The golems of ice got shatter after the gravity around them was manipulated; Sakura called on the forces of nature to her aid; vines were growing like wild roses out of the ground and attempting to grab Polaris. The gravity intensified around Polaris that the plants could not reach him.

Polaris leapt upwards and then began to call down a storm of gravity spheres; Sakura used the same technique of avoiding the finishing move to evade the gravity spheres. Polaris then sent a curse flying at Sakura and managed to hit her as she materialized; Sakura stumbled back slightly. Polaris landed, laughing like a total maniac.

"That curse will cause you to discharge your energy slowly, amplifying the pain; you can kiss your new powers good bye."

Sakura could feel the power leaking from her; she shot a sphere of light into the air, it cleared the clouds and allowed light to seep through; the light felt warm and comforting like Mother Nature herself was tending to Sakura. The curse seemed to have stopped working for some reason.

"No… you broke my beautiful curse…"

Polaris summon the gravity blade from before and threw a whole barrage of them at Sakura; the light caused the darkness to be dispelled which is what Polaris's magic was mainly made of. Sakura and Polaris suddenly were quite evenly matched; fighting like true masters but this battle must have an ending. Polaris was hurt several times over already and with the wasted energy on the finishing move; he was on his last straw.

Polaris threw a water orb upwards and it closed the gaps in the clouds and it started to rain.

"You forced me to do this…" Polaris growled at Sakura then he said an incantation in a dark voice while holding up something that looked like a pentagram: _**Ancient Spirits of Old, granted me the power of space, I now ask of you to bestow upon me the mighty power of time.**_

Dark energies started to concentrate as Polaris somehow had called upon a last minute reserve of power. His eyes lost all emotion; his face expressionless. _That expression… could only mean he lost his soul. _

Then all within a second, Sakura felt that she just got hit by several gravity spheres at once and from the shear force she was forced back. Polaris's attack did not stop there, he summoned a diamond sphere and then he fast forwarded time on the object to make it attack faster than the speed of light. Sakura was getting battered by an orb then just as she was getting up, gravity around started to warp and then she was smashed down again. Polaris's eyes sparkled like an idea just hit him. Sakura could guess what he was thinking: a finishing attack that was sped up so that she could not escape._ Wait if he does not have a soul then how can he still attack me without reason._

Sakura was once again launched into the air then Polaris leapt up instantly but Sakura dispersed once again into four entities but Polaris predicted that and then fast forward in time to hit all four with four separate comets. Sakura reappeared once again but unscratched. Polaris landed with his eyes now bloodshot.

Sakura had faked the earth entity with an earth doll again so with one surviving, she suffered none of the damage. Polaris seemed to have used a lot of power. Sakura could feel that the dark energies were not gone.

_Using so much power… where did he get that power of time? If he had nothing before, calling on this reserve is suicide._

The fight continued with both sides exchanging hits. Back at the real world, everyone looked on the battle. Crystal went back to the librarian and asked about this unusual power.

"Did you say a pentagram? Power of Time and Space?" the Librarian asked to clarify.

"Yes and the powers it gives are huge."

"That must be the pentagram of demonic darkness; it was forged a long time ago by one of the most evil mages of the time. The idea of that item is that it gives its holder powers of time and space in exchange of their soul. If the user gives up half of his soul, he could control one of the two but if he gives up his soul completely, he gets both but… without a soul, the magic would slowly consume the user."

"What happens if the extreme edges of Light and Darkness collide?"

"Then the dimension they are fighting in would be destroyed… Light and Darkness are equal in every way and if were to fight, the magical pulses would rip the very core of the dimension into pieces."

"No… that means…"

Sakura looked at Polaris as they are at a standstill once again. Sakura suddenly remembered, she could not kill Polaris for one reason… one half of her soul was situated there but all of Polaris soul was given away… that means… she is fighting against herself.

As if she knew what to do; Sakura summoned a connection between herself and her dark side.

The cold depths of Sakura's mind; the two of them met face to face.

"What do you want… I lost to Polaris and this is my punishment." The dark one said

"Why would you do that? You are all alone… nobody to accompany you, just Polaris and his dreams of being number one."

"Funny… his dream was not being number one but to escape."

"Huh?"

"He said so, he is going to force a battle of light and darkness in this dimension and then forces open a gateway into the real world. Once you done that, he will leave using my body as the host."

"Then why let him do that? Look, I want to make a deal with you… since you lost to Polaris, I had defeated him… if I beat you, and you will come back to me."

"Hm… interesting. Alright other me you got a deal." The dark one finished and then the connection was broken. Sakura smiled as well as the darker side.

Sakura clashed again with Polaris now under the control of her other self; Sakura's body dissipated into droplets whenever she got struck by a gravity blast. Sakura called down a thunderstorm once again and it continuously struck Polaris, draining some of his mental capacity as well. Sakura called out a water golem and it was as durable as she was; gravity attacks did not affect it. Polaris used the sphere made of diamond and it zoomed around Sakura and was about to batter her. Sakura stomped the ground and chunks of earth rose up and shielded her; Polaris used Gravity to crumble the earth then the sphere did some damage. Sakura 'punched' Polaris with a summoned knuckle made of lava then followed it with another made of ice; Polaris got surprised by the first one but then warp space to crush the icy knuckle. Sakura dug her paws into the ground and then out of nowhere a fire wave shot out of the ground up to six feet in front of her; not going to stop her attack, Sakura charged straight at Polaris then unleashed another skill; the icicles were shooting out of everywhere on the ground and pricking Polaris's feet.

In a last ditch attempt, Polaris encased Sakura in a Gravity sphere then exploded it and redirect the smaller spheres to whack her again and cause it to split to even small sphere and repeat the process. Sakura landed in a thud on the ground; both of them reached their limits already.

Sakura summoned one huge sensory blade and imbued it with the four elements; Polaris summoned the same Gravity sphere from before. They are charging whatever they had left into the last attack; then Sakura let hers go and it struck Polaris first and the four elements burned, drenched, chilled and whacked him, he collapsed soon after. The gravity sphere was launched and it hit too but Sakura was able to withstand it. Sakura had given it her all and could not fight anymore; her other-self accepted her defeat and returned to Sakura.

_You are a great fighter, glad that I stemmed from you._

Sakura's body and soul was returned home; the dimension they were in was crumbling apart and it opened a gateway like Polaris predicted. Polaris's soul left the broken Pentagram and out the gateway thus escaping the destruction of the dimension and lived to fight another day.

When Sakura returned, she was warmly welcomed by everyone but… her celebration was short-lived. Time had not changed when Sakura left for the other dimension so Arthur was almost completely gone; Crystal came back and she brought the librarian with her and the book as well.

"Come on we are running out of time!" Crystal urged the librarian who opened the book and gave it to Sakura. But it was too late, when the clock in the distance stuck. Arthur completely disappeared from view… he's gone.


	35. Chapter 35

_Ugh… what the heck happened? I feel like there was a jackhammer pounding on my poor head. Huh? Why is everyone standing still and looking at me?_

Arthur looked around; a spacious event hall, furnished with several tables that were covered with a white tablecloth; chairs with a fancy red cushion embedded at the base; a crystal chandelier and finally a large stage. There were several decorations with assorted colors that had been placed everywhere to make it look festive; an array of food had been set down with most of it already gone and finally a banner hung at the stage's backdrop: Happy Birthday Sakura and Arthur.

_Oh right… today is my birthday but I don't know why… it feels very weird with everyone just staring at me. Wait, are those tears?_

Arthur looked at Sakura; her fur slightly out of place; her former brilliant and sparkling violet eyes was now red and swollen with beads of water forming at the side eventually obstructing vision.

Sakura raised a paw and wiped it away however, strangely, her eyes could not stop producing tears.

"Was I crying?" Sakura sniffed as she continued to clear away the water flowing down to her cheeks. _That's strange… why do I feel this void in my heart?_

"Aww isn't that adorable! Sakura was so happy that she simply could not hold back her tears." Aries, a Snivy, said as she passed a tissue to Sakura. "Let's also celebrate you becoming a Master!"

Cheers of Sakura's friends followed soon after and the party continued as they soon played games; there were a lot of laughs and joy but strangely, Sakura just felt that something was missing. Sakura passed the strange book she was holding to the Librarian as she mingled.

_Can't someone even hear me? I think I yelled my voice hoarse already… Sakura? You can see me right?_

Arthur reached out to tap Sakura's shoulder and then his paw passed right through as if was not there; Arthur withdrew his paw and inspected it; it looked solid to him but yet he could not even pick up a single item when he tried.

_This can't be happening… this has to be a dream! Yeah… this is a dream, I just need to wake up and I am back in the real world._

Arthur tried slapping himself in the face but he felt pain; it was not a dream. He looked at everyone; none of them even noticed that Arthur was missing from the scene. The realization slowly crept up on Arthur: he does not exist anymore. Arthur fell back down to the floor; buried his head into his paws and cried silently as he slowly accepted the truth.

Sakura was walking to get herself more berry punch when she noticed something on the carpet; Sakura picked it up and inspected it; it was a locket that was shaped like a sea-shell and it seemed familiar.

_This… locket. I thought that I lost it! Back on the outskirts of Moon Fortress! To remind me of…_

Sakura unlocked the locket's mechanism and inside revealed a crudely drawn picture of an Eevee with an annotation at the bottom.

"Arthur…" Sakura recited as she saw the picture. "But I don't understand… who is he? I don't remember…"

_Did someone actually say my name? Who could it be? I ceased to exist so why…?_

Arthur was pouting for himself; lost all hope he once had; trying to accept the fact that he was a spirit. He looked up and saw the locket that he had found back in Moon Fortress; outside Sakura's grandmother's house. It was made by Sakura, along with the picture within it.

Sakura then looked around for the Librarian but in the process, she noticed the banner instead.

_That name again… who was this Arthur? He had the same birthday as me?_

Sakura then found the Librarian talking with Crystal; she hurried over and asked for the strange book that she was holding a moment ago. The Librarian opened it to the same page that it was on when she received it back before handing it to Sakura.

Sakura started to read the two pages; hoping to find something that would answer some of the question that she had on her mind. The pages only contained information on curses and a little more on their cures.

_What does curse had to do with this mysterious pokemon?_

As Sakura continued to read on, she found something that somehow relates to her current plight: the curse of the inversed. What she found out was: the end result of the curse of the inversed was that the affected pokemon's body vaporizes and also sending the soul within to another realm. The afflicted pokemon also seem to have disappeared off the face of the earth after their physical bodies are gone but there were always signs that they existed.

_If this book is right… then that means: this Arthur was affected by the curse and his body must have been vaporized, it all fits! But what's the cure to this?_

Sakura looked at the next page as it contained information about the cures but as she read it through, it failed to make any sense.

_What does it mean? Curses are an embodiment of darkness… it simply means that they are made of darkness but what does that have do to do with a cure?_

Sakura could not find an answer so she asked the Librarian and Crystal as well; Crystal was stumped as well but the Librarian was pondering it over.

"Do you know what the only thing that dispels darkness is?" the Librarian asked, Sakura and Crystal both replied at the same time: light.

"But what does a cure have to do with… oh wait!" Sakura started but stopped as she recalled her battle with Polaris: she was hit by a draining curse but sunlight somehow dispelled it. "Light dispel darkness so curses are also dispelled by light as well."

_So any curse will have a relation to darkness and vice versa… that means: Arthur's soul must be in the dark realm! But his soul needs a body… Hmm… I know! My powers of life, I could re-create his body for him!_

"Erm… is it possible to make a body?" Sakura asked the Librarian. "Using the element of life… I was thinking…"

"Even if you could, it would require a lot of magic just to control it… unless if you could find some sort of spiritual power from somewhere…"

"That's all I need to know!" Sakura hastily replied and then she turned her back to the Librarian and Crystal. "Open up! A gateway to the Dark Realm!"

Sakura could feel her powers and strangely, her tears, responding to her command; the tears gathered to form a small beam of light and then try to form a sort of door made of pure light from the heart. Sakura felt her powers being drained rather rapidly; she did not stop.

At the same time, Arthur could suddenly see the doorway before him.

_I guess I had forgotten what warmth was and also how it felt to have hope… it's wonderful… the doorway is now open; time to embrace it and to a brighter future. Hold on, Sakura, I am coming back for you._

Arthur dashed as fast as he could into the doorway then suddenly, he materialized in front of everyone (as they are attracted to the light Sakura had summoned) and since he ran to embrace the light, he ended up… hugging Sakura instead.

_It's him! Arthur… I told you that I will keep that promise and bring you back. There was no way I let my first love vanish like that._

The two Eevees did not break the embrace, instead they let it last as long as they could; both of them now leaking tears freely like a waterfall. Everyone around them was stunned; when they recovered, they too joined in and formed a group hug.

_The feeling of warmth… it's simply intoxicating… guess if you wandered the darkness for so long, you even forget how to smile._

Arthur just savored as much of this moment as he could as he did not want to forget the feeling ever again like he did when he was lost to the darkness.

Sakura's heart that had felt empty before was now whole once again; she simply could not imagine her life without Arthur anymore, he had become a part of her as she had been for him.

After the party was over, they all went home to their respective homes. Sakura received a warm welcome from her father and the servants whereas Arthur got a teary welcome from his family; unable to believe that they had forgotten about him.

Sakura and Arthur, along with their team, gathered at the Florinda sea-side resort a few days later to give themselves a proper vacation for this to simply let loose and have fun. Sakura and Arthur shared a room while there and they had a fun time together; even meeting Team Pokelife as well.

Eve, as usual, gave Sakura a big hug before also giving Arthur one. Chloe and Ken stuck with Melody and Kyle as they went around. After the first day of their vacation, letters came for all of them; Sakura received two; they all received an invitation from the Explorer Federation to attend an award ceremony for their efforts for liberating the East Region and also helping the Rescuers Association.

Sakura had mysteriously left after the second day; Arthur felt lonesome with Sakura around with him but still nonetheless had some fun with the rest of the team.

The day of the award ceremony; Team Sapphire had already gathered except Sakura. They all packed formal attire and changed into it when they arrived; they are hanging around the main gate waiting for Sakura to turn up.

_Sakura? Why did you leave so suddenly? You could always share with me… but why didn't you?_

Arthur paced around worriedly; he wore a black suit designed for four-legged pokemon; Crystal wore her 'ice princess' dress which was a dress with several parts that flow with any motion that the wearer makes; Mat, Oliver and Jake was wearing something similar to Arthur while Jasmine wore a lime green gown.

After a while; when the ceremony was about to start in a few minutes; a carriage stopped by the front gate and Sakura exited with haste and entered Spring Town's Town Hall, nearly busting down the door as she did.

"I am so sorry for running so late… I had so many things to do back home." Sakura quickly explained as she quickly went to a changing room to change into her formal attire which was a candy violet cocktail dress designed for her specially.

_Why would she be so late? What's happening these few days?_

Arthur looked at Sakura; he almost instantly noticed the bags around Sakura's eyes and that she was a little paler than normal. He wanted to express him concerns with her but when he did, Sakura just said that she had been rather busy.

When Team Sapphire received the award, everyone was invited to have refreshments. During which, Sakura had taken the microphone.

"Hello? Can everyone hear me?" Sakura tested the microphone. "I just to say that I am formally withdrawing from being an explorer as of today. It is nothing personal just that I have taken up duties back home and I have less time to spend exploring."

_So that's why… she had been so tired recently. But even with duties, Katie and the king should have been able to handle…_

"My father had also fallen ill to a disease that could prove fatal so I have to assume his duties along with mine; I hope you all could wish him a speedy recovery." Sakura finished before setting the microphone down and started to head for the doorway.

_Wait… she is leaving? But I…_

"Go on! Tell her already or you may never get it off your chest…" Jake nudged Arthur. Back at the resort, Arthur shared his feelings about Sakura with Jake and Jake suggested that he tell Sakura as soon as possible. Arthur ran after Sakura.

"Sakura wait!" Arthur called out and managed to get Sakura's attention. "I wanted to give you something."

"What is it?" Sakura said, looking at Arthur and smiling as much as she could. Arthur ran to somewhere and came back with a box on his back. He set in down in front of Sakura; her stare caused him to blush and stutter.

"Promise me that you will open in front of me…" Arthur said then snapped his paw to his mouth as he realized he asked Sakura to do the opposite of what he intended. "I mean…"

But it was too late; Sakura had opened the box and revealed its contents; a letter that had been folded three times; the locket that she had left with Arthur and finally a smaller box.

Sakura took the letter and opened it and read it aloud:

_Dear Sakura,_

_I really don't know how I tell you this so I wrote a poem instead…_

_The moments we spent together are bitter-sweet,_

_Even though you live in a fabulous suite_

_And I live with my family. _

_The cruel hands of fate had torn us apart several times,_

_But our will kept us bonded._

_I can never imagine a day without your presence,_

_I hope that you feel the same as I ask of you;_

_To wait for the day that we can be together._

_Forever from now till the end of time,_

_I can clearly say that… I love you._

"Arthur… this is…" Sakura said as she finished, her voice was shaking as she was reading it. More tears flowed from Sakura's eyes and Arthur stepped up to wipe them. "I will wait… I waited for a year now, I can wait for another. Just promise me that you will one day come back for me."

"I promise." Arthur finished and they both hugged to it. Sakura broke the embrace then smooched Arthur's face. His face went to the most adorable shade of red as he got stuck dumb by love. Sakura picked up the box and entered the carriage that was waiting for her.

"Well this is good-bye for now." Sakura and Arthur both said as they finally part ways; Arthur watched as the carriage rolled slowly out of view; He then noticed something glistening in the sunlight on the floor and then he picked it up and then ran to the doorway.

"**Sakura! You forgot your key!**"

At the same time, Sakura heard the yell and started laughing heartily. She was wearing the locket that she received and she opened the small box; inside was a bracelet that pokemon used to propose to each other.

_Arthur… do not misunderstand… that key and this locket… are now our promise to each other in physical form._ _One day… you will return that key back to me, I believe that you would… and when that day comes, I will be your Eevee forever._


End file.
